Fort Lauderdale Fla. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell addressed the absence of the NFL from Asia at a news conference on Friday.
The NFL has brought 14 preseason games — dubbed the American Bowl — to Japan, including eight straight years between 1989 and 1996. But since 2005, when the current Super Bowl XLIV participant Indianapolis Colts took on the Atlanta Falcons at Tokyo Dome, there have not been any games played on Asian soil.
"I spent quite a few years in Japan with the American Bowl series and our partners trying to develop the game," Goodell said at the media center for the Super Bowl XLIV. "We have some great fans over there who really understand the game of football. I think it is important for us to continue to be there."