Frankfurt, Germany ? After 16 years in Europe, the NFL shut down its developmental league Friday.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said it was strictly business, insisting that after “significant investment” it was time to close NFL Europa and concentrate internationally on regular-season games outside the United States.

“A foundation of American football fans in key European markets has been created and the time is right to shift our strategy,” Goodell said in a statement. “The next phase of our international growth is to focus on initiatives with global impact, including taking advantage of developing technologies that make the NFL more accessible on a global scale and ensuring the success of our new international series of regular-season games.”

The league reportedly was losing about $30 million a season. Five of the league’s six teams were in Germany, with the other in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

The announcement came less than a week after the Hamburg Sea Devils beat the Frankfurt Galaxy 37-28 in the World Bowl championship in Frankfurt before a crowd of 48,125.

NFL team owners decided in October to play up to two regular-season games each season outside the United States. The first such game is Oct. 28 in London between the Miami Dolphins and the New York Giants.

The league said it is looking toward other regular-season games in Germany, Mexico and Canada, with Germany a strong candidate for 2008.

“NFL Europa has created thousands of passionate fans who have supported that league and our sport for many years,” said Mark Waller, senior vice president of NFL International. “And we look forward to building on this foundation as we begin this new phase of our international development.”

The league began in 1991 as the World League of American Football, with 10 teams from the United States and Europe, spreading from Scotland to Spain.

After closing for two seasons in 1993 and 1994, the league returned with six European teams.

NFL Europa managing director Uwe Bergheim said the league had succeeded in establishing a fan base in important European markets.

The German teams in the developmental league were in Berlin, Hamburg, Duesseldorf, Cologne and Frankfurt.