By the end of this year 24 NFL teams – 75% of all teams – will have travelled to London to play an international game. …

So why are so many teams so eager to travel to a stadium more famed for its soccer? Well firstly the NFL and the UK are striking up a close relationship that could see an NFL team based in London as soon as in 2022, but that’s not the only reason teams love the trip to England.

Over the last few years a trend has appeared in many of the teams that have played Wembley arena. A phenomenon that has since become known as the Post-Wembley Wave. Data collected by Bwin’s NFL International Series has revealed that most of the teams who have played in London have returned home to play with a better performance than when they left.

It’s a trend that the 49ers themselves felt after their 2013 visit to the English capital. The match itself was a massive success with the 49ers destroying the Jaguars with an exceptional 42-10 final score at Wembley, but it was the improved performance after that really caught fans attention.

Before travelling to London the 49ers had lost four out of their five previous games. On their return they may have lost their next two matches, but went on to win the following three. Were the 49ers apart of this Post-Wembley Wave? It certainly appears so.

Especially when you consider that the 49ers also saw very similar results after their 2010 visit to London. Again the team had lost four out of their five matches before playing Wembley Stadium and again they went on to win three out of their following five matches post-London. The 49ers even won their Halloween match against the Broncos in London after an amazing fourth quarter with Troy Smith standing in as quarterback for an injured Alex Smith on the day.

It’s not just the 49ers who have seen a better win rate after their international trip though, many other teams have too. In 2012 the New England Patriots won their next five games after playing in London – they had won three out of the five matches preceding the trip.

In 2014 the Falcons entered London with a win in just one of their previous five games, yet after Wembley the team vastly improved their record with three wins out of five. Of course, not all teams saw improved wins such as the NY Giants who, in 2007, entered London with five out of five of their previous games won. After London the Giants went on to lose two of their next five games. Of course, the Giants did go on to win the Super Bowl that year so perhaps the Post-Wembley Wave is stronger than we think.

With such a trend being shown, it’s hard to think that any team will be reluctant to cross the waters and enter this lucky stadium. Indeed, if/when London gain their own NFL team the 49ers will definitely be up for a match.