The game, the so-called China Bowl, has been postponed until the summer of 2009 when it will take place in the new Olympic Stadium. Reports indicate that the NFL felt that it was already devoting enormous resources to staging its first regular-season game ever played outside North America, that in London in October 2007, and did not want to risk cutting corners on either the London or China projects. As a result it put back the Chinese game. The NFL said it wanted to concentrate its "global resources" on the regular-season game in London.
When the league announced the China Bowl last year, it was expected to be the only international game of 2007. "The regular-season game initiative was approved by NFL ownership after we announced the China Bowl. Therefore, we will focus this year's efforts on the regular-season game," commented Mark Waller, senior vice president of NFL International.
"Our assessment is that Chinese fans would be better served if our game in China is played at a later date after we have launched our international series of regular-season games and more effectively paved the way for the introduction of our game into China," added Waller. "As a new sport in China, it is critical that we create the best platform for the introduction of the game. We are delighted Beijing authorities have agreed with our assessment and have invited us to play in Beijing in 2009."
The league is setting up an office in Beijing.
