NFL Denies Planning Additional Games in London for 2015 Season

The National Football League's attempts to turn England into an American football hub reportedly will expand again next season, as the number of games in London will move from three to five. 

Alex Miller of the Daily Mail reported Sunday that plans wer in the works for a fourth and fifth game. The Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions squared off this weekend at London's Wembley Stadium, which played host to its 10th NFL game since 2007. 

However, Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post passed along a denial from the league that it was planning extra London games:

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NFL tells me the Daily Mail’s report of five games next year is “inaccurate.” A shocking development for that publication, I know.

— Bart Hubbuch (@BartHubbuch) October 26, 2014"

NFL UK managing director Alistair Kirkwood would later confirm there would only be three games played in London in 2015 via BBC.com:

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We are going to do three games next year, and looking at staging two games back to back in successive weeks to test this support base. There are some logistic reasons around the Rugby World Cup that means we won't be going to four or five.

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After having only one game on the London slate for the first six years of its agreement with Wembley Stadium, the NFL has rapidly worked to increase that number in recent years. Last season was the first time London hosted two NFL games, and the third was added before the 2014 campaign. 

The Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders played across the pond already this season. The Dallas Cowboys and Jacksonville Jaguars wrap up the 2014 London schedule Nov. 9.

Miller's report indicates the NFL is "confident" it can fill Wembley, which is roughly the size of a typical NFL stadium, for all five games. Commissioner Roger Goodell has made European expansion one of the tenets of his tenure, indicating that a franchise could move to London within the next decade.

Andrew Burton/Getty Images

"We actually couldn't be more surprised by the tremendous demand for NFL football in London and the U.K. in general and frankly even Europe," Goodell told NFL Network's Alex Flanagan in July. "It's not something I think is 15 or 20 years away, it could be five or 10 years away."

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne told Joe Murphy of the London Evening Standard last week that he supports a London franchise.

"This is primarily a decision for the owners of the clubs and the NFL organization but I've said to the NFL that anything the government can do to make this happen we will do, because I think it would be a huge boost to London," Osborne said. "We could have not just the 'Star-Spangled Banner' at the beginning of NFL games but also 'God Save The Queen.'"

Andrew Brandt of ESPN noted that the expansion to five games is paving the way for eight, the number of games a standard NFL team hosts each season:

There is no telling whether a London franchise is actually a viable endeavor.

Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether the NFL is willing to keep pushing the limits of European expansion to find out.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter