The possibility of a permanent NFL franchise in Britain is "realistic", according to NFL UK chief Alistair Kirkwood.

Four NFL games have been hosted at Wembley Stadium since 2007 and the next fixture will take place in October between Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chicago Bears.

Asked whether the UK could manage its own franchise, Kirkwood told BBC Sport: "I think it's realistic. There's a long way to go for us to get it right.

"If you think about it, the reason for doing regular season games all over the UK are partly for the fan base and partly to see if logistically whether it can actually work and the teams that have to travel over don't get a competitive disadvantage.

"We've now proved teams can come over," he added.

This year's game was a doubt after a dispute between players and team owners, but an agreement last week has allowed the game to be played as scheduled.