The NFL is considering playing a regular-season game in China as early as 2018.
The organization on Monday confirmed it is gauging interest among its professional football teams to play in the country. “We are completing a detailed analysis of playing a regular season game in China as early as 2018,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in an emailed statement to TIME. “A handful of teams have already expressed interest in playing there.”
Many details about the possible decision are unclear, and McCarthy said the NFL is not yet disclosing which teams have showed a willingness to participate.
The NFL has been focusing on its expansion overseas with the 2007 launch of the International Series, which featured the first regular-season games in London, according to Fox Sports, which first broke the news of the analysis.
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