Jacksonville Jaguars Officially Announce Plans to Play in London from 2013-'16

The Jacksonville Jaguars have committed to playing four regular season games in the UK, after initial rumours were confirmed by Jaguars.com and Sky Sports.

The news is a boost to the NFL's international series, after St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke backed out of a proposal to have his team play three homes game at London's Wembley stadium. Now it's the Jaguars who will be making that trip, after agreeing to an unprecedented commitment to bring the game to the UK.

The NFL has held regular season games at Wembley, every season since 2007. For the most part the games have been a major success.

The famous stadium has been sold out, or at least close to full capacity, for each game and the atmosphere has been excellent. However, bringing the same team back for four years, is a big risk from league commissioner Roger Goodell.

Trying to engender a regular and consistent UK fan base for a single team, may not work, given the loyalties established for different teams by many fans over the years. Unifying domestic support for the Jaguars, will be a difficult idea to accept for UK fans who take their allegiances to say the Chicago Bears, or Washington Redskins, as seriously as NFL fans in the U.S.

Another consideration has to be the relative lack of success of the Jaguars during recent seasons. Avoiding one-sided games has to be a chief aim every time the league transplants the game to foreign soil.

The Miami Dolphins-New York Giants 2007 Wembley clash, was largely a dour affair However, the novelty factor and the anticipation of a first-ever regular season game in the UK, combined with stellar support from contingents of fans from the U.S. maintained an outstanding atmosphere.

The best quality game was 2008's wild offensive explosion, between the New Orleans Saints and San Diego Chargers. The excitement of that night's contest contrasted sharply with the predictable thrashing of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the hands of the New England Patriots in 2009.

Four-straight home games demands a competitive Jaguars team and puts additional pressure on the rebuilding efforts of first-year head coach Mike Mularkey. No matter the possible issues, a commitment to four more years of the NFL in London, is great news for UK fans and for a Jaguars franchise that has struggled to fill their own stadium.