The first NFL game scheduled for China, the inaugural China Bowl between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks on August 9, was called off by the league late on Monday.

 

The league said in a statement that it had instead decided to concentrate on its first overseas regular season game between the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants in London in October and that the China Bowl would now take place in 2009.

 

"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," NFL senior vice president Mark Waller said.

 

"As a new sport in China, it is critical that we create the best platform for the introduction of the game."

 

The Patriots and Seahawks had been scheduled to meet in a pre-season game at Beijing's Workers Stadium a day after the start of the one-year countdown to the 2008 Olympics.

 

The statement said the NFL was in the process of opening an office in Beijing and that the 2009 game would be played at the "Bird's Nest" national stadium, the showpiece venue of next year's Games.

 

(Reuters April 3, 2007)