The inaugural NFL regular-season game to be played outside North America, between the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins at Wembley last year, was so successful that the original agreement was extended to 2010. But, for those working to grow the game in Britain, there is more at stake than merely the opportunity to rub shoulders with the best that gridiron has to offer.

“Our TV ratings on Sky from the Wembley game [in 2007] onwards increased 45 per cent year on year,” Alistair Kirkwood, the managing director of NFL UK, said. “Now Sky and the BBC are showing this year's game live, we've got a good opportunity to bring people in through the BBC, who, we hope, will start watching on Sky on a regular basis.

“There is no sport being played regularly against our TV time slots, so someone can be a fan of Arsenal or Celtic or Wasps, or any team, but also add on being a fan of the New Orleans Saints.

“The Wembley games will go down well, but the danger is that it will come across as a circus coming into town. The biggest challenge is to use the game as a stimulation for interest in the sport. We have an opportunity over these four years to grow the sport substantially.”

Entertaining and educating the younger fan is a central objective, and a new interactive website, coachstilo.com, is aimed in that direction. “It tries to teach the game in a way it has never been taught before,” Kirkwood said. “The user is a rookie who is trying to make the team and there's an angry, dissatisfied head coach. You're constantly being challenged to see if you can keep up.”

More people also want to play as well as watch. “We have seen a 12 per cent increase in participation since last season's game, which makes it one of the fastest-growing sports in Britain,” Ken Walters, of the British American Football Association, said. “As a result of this year's game, we will no doubt see another increase.”

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