NFL news: Packers to play first game in London

The Packers will become the 32nd and final side to play in London since 2007 and they and the New Orleans Saints have been confirmed as 'hosts' for games at Tottenham.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will play at Wembley as the third team to stage a game in the UK, while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be the designated home team for the NFL's first regular season game in Germany.

The Arizona Cardinals are also on the move as they'll play a game in Mexico City.

Details of their opponents, the dates and kick-off times will be confirmed when the full 2022 schedule is announced later this year, most likely in May.

As the NFL looks to expand its horizons and broaden their fan base, they've allocated marketing areas around the world where teams can promote themselves and bring in fans and revenue from growing their own core of fans. These games are part of those plans.

Green Bay are one of the NFL's most storied teams and one of the most popular in the UK, but this will be their first visit since NFL UK games kicked off in 2007.

Packers game are huge sell-outs at Lambeau Field but also always guarantee a full house when playing on the road, so teams have never wanted to sacrifice that revenue by playing a game against them abroad.

However, with the NFL season expanding, teams can forgo one home game and still have the usual eight at home, which gave the Packers room to finally become the 32nd and final team to play in London.

"The Green Bay Packers are excited to make our international debut during the 2022 season," said Packers president Mark Murphy.

"Our fans in the UK and elsewhere in Europe have been eagerly awaiting an opportunity to see the Packers play in their backyard, and we know that many of our fans in the United States will travel to London."

The Saints have won their two previous games in London, and will hope to make it three in a row, while the Jaguars continue their regular annual visit to the UK with their ninth appearance.

Arizona will play at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City while the Buccaneers, who won the Super Bowl in 2020, will play ay Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena as the NFL comes to Germany.

Munich and Frankfurt will alternate hosting duties for the one game per season to be played in Germany, with only the fact that NFL legend Tom Brady has retired just before Tampa Bay make the trip over being the one minor disappointment.

"We look forward to participating in the first regular-season NFL game in Munich, Germany later this fall as part of the International Series," said Buccaneers owner Joel Glazer.