PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies and Mets are headed to London next year.

Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association announced on Friday that the teams will play a two-game series at London Stadium on June 8-9, 2024. It will be MLB¡¯s third series in London, following the inaugural series in 2019 between the Red Sox and Yankees, and this weekend¡¯s series between the Cubs and Cardinals.

"We think our game is at its best when we have traditional rivals playing, and we want to show the fans here in London the very best form of baseball," MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said.

• London Series

This will be the Phillies¡¯ first trip outside North America, and the Mets¡¯ fourth outside the continental United States and Canada. They played in Mexico in 1996, in Japan in 2000 and in Puerto Rico in 2010.

¡°Alex and I are thrilled the Mets will play in the MLB 2024 London Series,¡± Mets owner Steve Cohen said in a statement. ¡°Interest in baseball is growing all over the world and to bring the Mets ¡®never-say-die¡¯ attitude to sports fans in London is a tremendous honor. Our Queens family is ready to show London a great time with exciting baseball and amazing experiences that create new fans and build the Mets community throughout the United Kingdom.¡±

¡°Major League Baseball has done an excellent job of expanding its footprint internationally, and we are honored to play a role in that effort as part of the 2024 London Series,¡± Phillies managing partner and CEO John Middleton said in a statement. ¡°This will be a wonderful opportunity to showcase our players¡¯ talents and highlight the excitement that comes with a Phillies-Mets matchup for our fans in the UK and for those who have never attended a baseball game.¡±

The London Series is part of the MLB World Tour, created to bring Major League teams and players to a global fan base. It is the league¡¯s and the MLBPA¡¯s largest international plan, featuring as many as 24 regular-season games and as many as 16 exhibition games played in Asia, Europe, Mexico and Latin America through the 2026 season.

"To us, London is a really important part of our international strategy," Manfred said. "We have seen great growth in baseball since we were here in 2019. The number of people in Britain that identify as fans has doubled since 2019. ... We're going to make this part of our regular program and looking forward to be back next year."

Said Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor: ¡°I love it. It¡¯s good for the game. It¡¯s good for us as well. I've been a part of one game [outside the continental United States and Canada], which was in Puerto Rico, the Twins against the Indians, and it was one of the best experiences of my career -- being back home, obviously. If it's done correctly with the traveling and it mimics how we get treated here, it should be amazing. It should be a fun and amazing experience. I'm looking forward to it.¡±