Chelsea Football Club, one of the world's premier soccer teams, and the National Football League announced that they have forged a partnership in preparation for the NFL's first overseas regular-season game at London's Wembley Stadium on Oct. 28.
Chelsea will play a key role surrounding the match between the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants, including the appointment of England soccer captain JOHN TERRY and leading goal-scorer DIDIER DROGBA as honorary captains for the Giants.
The two-time Premier League champions will host the two-time Super Bowl champion Giants at their state-of-the-art training ground in Cobham, Surrey. The Giants will stage a full practice and host a media availability session at the facility after arriving in London on Friday, Oct. 26.
"It is a great honor for us to be hosting the New York Giants on what is a historic occasion for the NFL and for London," said Chelsea Chief Executive PETER KENYON. "Everybody is looking forward to the game. It is a great testament to the innovative thinking of the NFL and the power of London as a city that the first overseas regular-season game is being staged here.
"For Chelsea, it also continues our association with the U.S. sports scene at the highest level and we hope to renew our friendship with the Giants when we return to the U.S. and to New York in 2009 for the preseason."
England captain Terry also was excited about his involvement with the NFL.
"I have always been a big fan of American football and it is great to be asked to be honorary captain," said Terry. "When we have toured the U.S., we have often used NFL facilities and our players have met a number of players there. We have always been massively impressed by the athleticism and skill in the game."
Giants head coach TOM COUGHLIN is already a big fan of the Cobham training ground.
"When our people came back from their advance trip to Chelsea's facilities in early June," said Coughlin, "they told me, 'Coach, you are going to have a tear in your eye when you see the fields at Chelsea's facility. You've only seen practice fields this beautiful in your dreams.'"
ALISTAIR KIRKWOOD, Managing Director of NFL UK, also praised Chelsea's facility.
"We are very excited about the support Chelsea Football Club is giving to our event and we look forward to developing our relationship with them," said Kirkwood. "The ground at Cobham is a magnificent facility and I know the Giants players will be very impressed."
The NFL's London game has proved to be one of the year's hottest tickets, with more than half a million tickets requests received within 72 hours of its announcement and all tickets sold in less than two hours. FOX will air the action live in the U.S. while the game will be broadcast live on Sky Sports with highlights on BBC2 in the UK.
Kenyon will also be a guest speaker at Sport 2020, the sports business conference that The Economist, in conjunction with the NFL, is staging at The Landmark Hotel on Thursday, Oct. 25. The event will bring together many of the most influential figures in world sport, including several American owners of Premier League teams such as JOEL GLAZER of Manchester United and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, STANLEY KROENKE, minority shareholder of Arsenal, and GEORGE GILLET and TOM HICKS, co-owners of Liverpool.
