FRANKFURT, Germany, June 29 (UPI) -- The National Football League has folded its European development league after 16 seasons.
The announcement Friday came less than a week after the Hamburg Sea Devils beat the Frankfurt Galaxy 37-28 in the World Bowl title game in Germany. The six-team league had five entries in Germany and one in Amsterdam.
The NFL said it believed it could develop an international focus with occasional regular-season games in Europe. This season the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants are to play Oct. 28 in London.
"The time is right to re-focus the NFL's strategy on initiatives with global impact, including worldwide media coverage of our sport and the staging of live regular-season NFL games," said Senior Vice President of NFL International Mark Waller.
The NFL in 1991 began the World League of American Football with 10 teams. The team took a hiatus in 1993 and 1994 and returned with its six-team format in 1995. Among players who moved from the European league to the NFL are quarterback Kurt Warner, quarterback Jake Delhomme and kicker Adam Vinatieri.
