NFL Europa is shut down

FRANKFURT, Germany — After 15 seasons in Europe, the NFL's developmental league was shut down Friday.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said it was strictly business, insisting that after "significant investment" it was time to close NFL Europa and concentrate internationally on regular-season games outside the United States.

The league reportedly was losing about $30 million a season. Five of the league's six teams were in Germany, with the other in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

"A foundation of American football fans in key European markets has been created and the time is right to shift our strategy," Goodell said in a statement. "The next phase of our international growth is to focus on initiatives with global impact, including taking advantage of developing technologies that make the NFL more accessible on a global scale and ensuring the success of our new international series of regular-season games."

The announcement came less than a week after the Hamburg Sea Devils beat the Frankfurt Galaxy 37-28 in the World Bowl championship game in Frankfurt before 48,125.

NFL team owners decided in October to play up to two regular-season games each season outside the United States. The first such game is Oct. 28 in London between Miami and the New York Giants.

The NFL said it is looking toward other regular-season games in Germany, Mexico and Canada, with Germany a strong candidate for 2008.

NFL Europa began in 1991 as the World League of American Football, with 10 teams from North America and Europe. After closing for the 1993 and 1994 seasons, the league returned with six European teams.

Notes

• NFL officials are trying to put a positive spin on the fact the proposed exhibition game between the Seahawks and New England Patriots in August in Beijing was scrapped in April. Playing a game — perhaps with different teams — in Beijing in 2009 is the new target.

"This now gives us an opportunity to build a fan base and we have another two years to get prepared," said Gordon Smeaton, NFL International vice president.

• Miami quarterback Daunte Culpepper's grievance hearing, which was to be Friday, was postponed and will be held July 18, a source said. Friday's session was postponed when the flight that arbitrator John Feerick was on from New York was disrupted for weather reasons.

• The host Philadelphia Soul beat the Orlando Predators 41-26 in an Arena Football League National Conference wild-card playoff game.