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LONDON -- The first 40,000 tickets made available for the NFL's second overseas regular-season game on October 26 at Wembley Stadium in London, England between the San Diego Chargers and New Orleans Saints sold today in 90 minutes. The tickets were available to fans who were randomly selected from an overwhelming number of registered ticket requests.

"We are delighted to report the overwhelming interest in this year's game," said ALISTAIR KIRKWOOD, managing director of NFL UK. "Today's sales at Ticketmaster have matched the pace at which tickets were bought for last year's game between the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants, which was historic in being the first-ever regular-season game outside North America. This proves that our event is one of the most eagerly awaited on the British sports calendar."

Because of the demand for tickets, the NFL has released an additional 5,000 tickets to go on sale immediately. There also has been an increase in the number of tickets that will be offered in the second sale of tickets to fans who registered in February when the game was announced.

Last year's Wembley game was such a success that the NFL has committed to playing at least one game in the UK for each of the next three seasons, beginning with this year's matchup of teams who have each come within one game of reaching the Super Bowl in the past two seasons.

The Saints feature one of the most exciting players in the NFL in running back REGGIE BUSH, who appeared alongside English soccer star DAVID BECKHAM in a series of TV commercials following the former England captain's move to America. The Chargers' offense is led by running back LA DAINIAN TOMLINSON, who set an NFL record by scoring 31 touchdowns in 2006 and was named the league's MVP. Both players are scheduled to make a promotional visit to London next month.