Patriots and Bucs to play at Wembley in 2009

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will face the New England Patriots when the NFL returns to London next year, the league said on Monday.

The game will be played on October 25 at Wembley Stadium, the third straight year the league has played a regular-season game there.

"Over the past two years we have seen first-hand the excitement that exists for our sport in the UK," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.

"The games have helped us to deepen our connection with our UK fans as well as create new ones. We are looking forward to another outstanding game in 2009."

(Reporting by Steve Ginsburg; editing by Tony Jimenez)