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The American Bowl was a series of
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
pre-season exhibition games that were held at sites outside the United States between 1986 and 2005. The league started the ''American Bowl'' series in 1986 primarily to promote
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
in other countries. After successful games in London's
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
, the series was expanded to Japan. After 1990, games were also played in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
and Berlin to promote the new
World League of American Football NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally ...
(later NFL Europe) which started in 1991.


Game history


Previous games outside the U.S.

Several earlier pre-season games involved NFL teams and were played outside the United States, without being labeled "American Bowl" games. Between 1950 and 1983, there were 13 football games involving NFL or
AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...
teams played on foreign soil. Six games in Canada between 1950–1961 pitted NFL teams against
CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
teams with the NFL team winning all six games. These games were a hybrid of US and Canadian football. One game involved an AFL team (the Buffalo Bills, who lost 38–21 to the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats). There was also a game in 1960 that pitted the Chicago Bears against the New York Giants played in Toronto; this was in return for a 1958 CFL matchup that was played in Philadelphia. 3''.html"_;"title="#References.html"_;"title="'#References">3''">#References.html"_;"title="'#References">3''/sup> Five_games_also_used_the_American_Bowl_format_without_the_name_prior_to_1986._One_of_these_games_was_an_AFL–NFL_matchup,_Boston_vs._Detroit_on_August_25,_1969._Firstly,_two_games_were_played_in_Montreal_ Montreal_(_;_officially_Montréal,_)_is_the__second-most_populous_city_in_Canada_and__most_populous_city_in_the__Canadian_province_of__Quebec._Founded_in_1642_as_''_Ville-Marie'',_or_"City_of_Mary",_it_is_named_after__Mount_Royal,_the_triple_...
_in_1969._Then_NFL_exhibition_games_took_place_in_Tokyo,_Japan.html" "title="#References">3''.html" ;"title="#References.html" ;"title="'#References">3''">#References.html" ;"title="'#References">3''/sup> Five games also used the American Bowl format without the name prior to 1986. One of these games was an AFL–NFL matchup, Boston vs. Detroit on August 25, 1969. Firstly, two games were played in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
in 1969. Then NFL exhibition games took place in Tokyo, Japan">Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
 (1976), Mexico City (1978), and London (1983) before the term ''American Bowl'' was coined. The game in Tokyo was called the "Mainichi Star Bowl

The game in London was called the ''Global Cup''.


American Bowl games (1986–2005)

At least one ''American Bowl'' game was played annually between 1986 and 2003. As many as four were played per year in the early 1990s. The two participating teams were selected by the league. The American Bowl was a fifth pre-season game, played the same weekend as the
Pro Football Hall of Fame Game The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game is an annual National Football League (NFL) exhibition game in Canton, Ohio, held the weekend of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's induction ceremonies. The game is played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, part ...
, and did not take away a game from the participating teams' pre-season schedules. The largest crowd in NFL history was recorded at the American Bowl game at
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...
on August 15, 1994, when 112,376 people attended the Governor's Cup game between the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...
and
Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...
. In 1996 it was played in Monterrey at the Estadio Universitario. The 1997 game was played in
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
, Ireland, as well as Toronto (Buffalo and Green Bay). There were three games in
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
, two in
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
, and thereafter one per year. There was no American Bowl game played in 2004, and from 2000 to 2005 all American Bowl games were played in either
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
or Japan. Two 1988 games in Montreal and Gothenburg, Sweden, and a 1993 game in Toronto, are not classed as American Bowl games. This is because they were not arranged by the NFL but, rather, the scheduled home team elected to play there. Montreal held an American Bowl in 1990. At the time Montreal had no
CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
team, after the Concordes/Alouettes had folded in 1987, but before the new Alouettes relocated there in 1996. The NFL-backed World League saw the
Montreal Machine The Montreal Machine were the sole Canadian team in the World League of American Football (WLAF), a springtime developmental professional league set up by the National Football League (NFL) that played in 1991 and 1992. There were also three Euro ...
franchise compete in 1991 and 1992.


Post–American Bowl

The last American Bowl was held in 2005. After taking over the position in 2006, new NFL commissioner Roger Goodell cited the league's new international strategy in the abandonment of international pre-season games as well as the closure of what had by then become NFL Europa after its 2007 season, instead focusing on playing regular season games in foreign countries. The pre-season game that was scheduled to take place in August 2007 (later postponed to 2009) between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks at Beijing National Stadium in
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, China, was named the ''
China Bowl China Bowl may refer to: * China Bowl (NFL), a proposed football game by the National Football League * China Bowl (CAFL), the championship football game for the China Arena Football League * China Bowl (1945), a game between US Army and Navy play ...
'' instead of the ''American Bowl''; that game, too, was eventually canceled before being played. The first
regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of ...
NFL game played outside the United States was held on October 2, 2005, at
Estadio Azteca Estadio Azteca () is a multi-purpose stadium located in Mexico City. It is the official home of Association football, football clubs Club América and Cruz Azul as well as the Mexico national football team. The stadium sits at an altitude of a ...
in Mexico City before an NFL regular-season record of 103,467 fans. The Arizona Cardinals defeated the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
, 31–14. The New York Giants and
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
played a regular season game at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
in London on October 28, 2007 (with the Giants winning 13–10), the first ever NFL regular season game to be played outside of North America; similarly, the San Diego Chargers and
New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
followed suit in October
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
. These games are termed the NFL International Series. In addition to these games, the Buffalo Bills began the Bills Toronto Series, a number of annual pre- and regular-season games in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
; the Miami Dolphins beat the Bills 16–3 in the first such game on December 7, 2008. The series ran from 2008 to 2013.


List of games


Standings


See also

*
List of National Football League games played outside the United States The National Football League (NFL) has played numerous games outside of the United States. All of the league's current and former teams have been based in the contiguous United States, with only the Pro Bowl played in a non-contiguous U.S. state (H ...


References

* * * {{Collegiate American Football in Japan navbox National Football League exhibition season Recurring sporting events established in 1986 1986 establishments in the United States American football in Toronto American football in Mexico American football in Australia American football in Japan American football in China American football in London Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2005