Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers to meet in London on 29 September 2013, before Jacksonville Jaguars face San Francisco 49ers on 27 October, as NFL expands overseas schedule

The NFL has announced the staging of a second 2013 regular-season game in London. The Minnesota Vikings will "host" the Pittsburgh Steelers at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 29 September, before the Jacksonville Jaguars play the San Francisco 49ers at the same venue on Sunday 27 October.

The Jaguars announced in August that they would play four NFL games at Wembley over four seasons. This season, the St. Louis Rams will be the "home" team, against the New England Patriots on Sunday 28 October. In the summer, the Rams dropped plans to play at Wembley in 2013 and 2014.

The NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, said: "Since we started playing regular-season games in London five years ago, we have heard very clearly from our UK fans – they want more football. We are excited to play two games in London and take this next step in the growth of our game. We believe that more football will lead to more fans."

The Vikings have not played in London since they staged a 1983 pre-season game at Wembley; the Steelers have never played in the UK.

The NFL claims to have a UK fanbase of 11 million, two million of them counting as "avid fans". Regarding UK television audiences for the sport, the League said: "Sunday viewership of NFL games [is] up 154% and the Super Bowl audience [has] increased 74% since 2006.

The NFL also said: "Participation in amateur football in the UK has also risen since the start of the international series, growing by approximately 15% per year since 2007."

In 2007, the New York Giants beat the Miami Dolphins 13-10 in the first International Series game. Since then the San Diego Chargers, the New Orleans Saints, the Patriots, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (twice), the Denver Broncos, the San Francisco 49ers and the Chicago Bears have played regular-season games at Wembley.