San Francisco has played in six foreign countries over the years: Mexico, Canada, England, Spain, Germany and Japan.
- In this Wednesday edition of Niners Daily, we bring you important news from across the pond that likely will affect a future San Francisco 49ers regular season game. *
Further investing in its brand internationally, the NFL announced a 10-year agreement to play a minimum of two games per year at Tottenham Hotspur's new stadium in London.
The deal, which begins in 2018 when the Premier League team's facility is expected to open, is the latest example of the NFL's commitment to growing the sport abroad.
The league began playing games in London in 2007, and this year's International Series will feature three contests at the famed Wembley Stadium. Reports continue to suggest that a franchise will eventually move to England permanently in the coming years. Wednesday's news, obviously, fans those flames.
For now, however, teams rotate playing games in London. The San Francisco 49ers have twice made the trip overseas for a regular season tilt, the most recent coming in 2013 when they defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars, 42-10.
During that visit, the 49ers spent time at Tottenham's training facility, even kicking the soccer ball around with several of the Premier League players.
Tottenham's new stadium will seat 61,000 fans and feature an artificial surface underneath its retractable grass field. The former will be used solely for NFL games.
In addition to the minimum two games per year at Tottenham's stadium, the NFL said it could play more games elsewhere in the United Kingom during the 10-year agreement. The league has two seasons remaining on its deal with Wembley Stadium.
"Anyone who has seen American football at Wembley Stadium cannot fail to have been thrilled by the spectacle, and the wise heads that run the NFL have clearly not missed the fact that Londoners are going absolutely gangbusters for gridiron," said Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London. "Touchdowns in Tottenham can only add to our reputation as a global sporting powerhouse, and help us take another step towards our goal of having a permanent NFL franchise here in London."
Throughout the team's history, the 49ers have been involved in expanding football beyond its American borders. In all, the franchise has played in six foreign countries: Mexico, Canada, England, Spain, Germany and Japan.
Will the 49ers make a return trip to London soon? We'll have to wait and see.
Below are renderings of what Tottenham's stadium will look like.
