New York Yankees to play games in London

Major League Baseball have announced that the New York Yankees will play two games against the Boston Red Sox at the London Stadium in 2019.

The games will take place on June 29 and 30 at the venue which hosted the Olympic Games in 2012.

MLB claims it is "committed to playing in London in 2020 and our intention is to establish a long-term footprint in the city."

Baseball is following in the footsteps of American Football which has regularly held games in England since 2007.

"I've never been to London, so I'm looking forward to that," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "Can grow our game, obviously, in Europe and hopefully getting two big teams out there will be a great thing for the sport."

In recent years baseball has ventured away from the USA, playing games in Australia and Japan, so this is not a first trip abroad for the sport synonymous with the States.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan launched the London Series alongside Red Sox owner John W Henry - who also owns Liverpool - and Yankees chief Hal Steinbrenner in London on Tuesday.

Khan said: "London is the sporting capital of the world. These are the two

best baseball teams in the world and arguably the two best sporting teams in the world.

"It will be a fantastic two days next year. In future years there may be many more games in London and maybe abaseball team permanently."