Friday 27 April 2018 18:08, UK
Shahid Khan says the Jacksonville Jaguars already feel at home at Wembley and hopes the franchise can play as many matches there as possible.
Khan, who also owns Championship promotion-hopefuls Fulham, has made an offer to buy Wembley Stadium from the Football Association in a deal thought to be worth in the region of £800m.
The Jaguars have staged a home game at Wembley every season since 2013 and have won each of their last three matches at the venue. Khan says it is clear Wembley is a stadium that is good for both the Jaguars and the NFL as a whole.
"Wembley is not only an iconic stadium, it's great for the Jaguars," Khan told US television station CBS47/FOX30.
"I think our identity and how we play there - I mean just think about it, we win three games in a season one of them is in London. We won five, two years ago, and one of those was in London.
"Why? I asked the players and the coaches that - it's because we have the energy, we have the fans there and we have a full stadium there.
"It's good for us and I think it's good for the NFL. We want to host as many NFL games there. But the Jaguars, we want to play there.
"I hope they [the NFL] are going to support us, and they know, I think the league knows how important London is for us.
"What it does is it gives us some confidence about what we are doing over there. We've had a full-time staff over in London for sponsorship and planning our games for a long time. It gives them some certainty that we are going to be able to keep that up."
NFL executive vice-president Mark Waller last year said it remains a realistic possibility to see an NFL team in London by 2022.
Asked if there will be a NFL franchise in London by then, Khan said: "I have no idea, it's like asking where the stock market is going to be. I have no idea.
"I think what we have to do is look at how it impacts us as a franchise. We want to take the unique aspects of Jacksonville and supplement that where we are successful as a franchise."
Asked if Fulham will play any games at Wembley if the purchase goes through, Khan said: "Boy, I hope they do! It means they will in a [latter stage] cup game. I hope they do but certainly that isn't the plan."
