WATFORD, England (AP) — NFL teams have been playing regular season games in London for seven years, and every coach is asked: Will the British capital eventually get its own franchise?

Atlanta Falcons coach Mike Smith believes it’s going to become a reality soon, despite the obvious time zone and travel difficulties of running a trans-Atlantic league.

“There’s some logistical things that everybody is concerned about. But the league has done lots of work on it, and they have some answers,” Smith said on Thursday, three days before his squad plays the Detroit Lions at Wembley Stadium.

“It’s probably going to happen sooner than later. Football, American football, is becoming popular outside the United States. And the NFL is in an expansion mode.”

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