NFL announces London will host 4 games in 2017

The NFL continues to expand the amount of games played overseas, and announced Friday morning that London will now play host to four games in 2017.

Games in the United Kingdom began happening once a year in 2007, but expanded to two games in 2013 and three games per year in the last three seasons. A fourth game in 2017 will be the most ever hosted by London in a season.

This expansion is on a pace set by the NFL in 2015 when a partnership with London’s Rugby Football Union guaranteed that there will be at least five games played in London in 2018.

“We continue to be incredibly excited by the passion and love for the NFL shown by our millions of U.K. fans,” Roger Goodell said. “London is an amazing city. We have had tremendous support from our fans, from Mayor Khan and other government leaders and business partners, and we are looking forward to taking the next step in the U.K. by playing four games in London next season.”

Sunday viewership of NFL games has more than doubled in the U.K. since 2007 according to the NFL. The growth of the sport, coupled with sellout crowds at Wembley Stadium and Twickenham Stadium, make more games overseas a logical choice.

However, declining ratings for the 9:30 a.m. kickoffs have the NFL reportedly considering pushing the start time back to 1 p.m. for games in London.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have already agreed to play one home game per year in London through the 2020 season. The Los Angeles Rams have also agreed to play international games while a new stadium is being built, and is expected to play in London in 2017 and possibly China in 2018.

A game between the Miami Dolphins and New Orleans Saints has already been slated for London in 2017, as well.