NFL targets more international fixtures

Article posted by Coliseum, November 20^th, 2024

Image: Berlin Olympiastadion, Rebecca Leisten www.rebecca-leisten.de, CC BY-SA 4.0

The National Football League (NFL) is aiming to hold eight games outside the United States next season including a possible first game in Ireland, according to commissioner Roger Goodell.

Reuters said the NFL held the last of its five international matches for 2024 at the Allianz Arena in Munich with the Carolina Panthers claiming a 20-17 overtime win over the New York Giants.

The first regular-season NFL game in Germany was played between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Seattle Seahawks at the Allianz Arena in November 2022.

The NFL has previously said it would host a game in Madrid in 2025 at the iconic Santiago Bernabeu stadium, with the league’s push to expand its footprint outside the U.S. showing no signs of letting up.

The renovated Bernabéu Stadium features a retractable playing surface that makes it possible to replace the soccer pitch with an NFL-caliber field, eliminating a massive hurdle to holding a game at the facility.

It also follows in the footsteps of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in England, which was purposely built to serve as both the home of the Premier League club and also as a top-tier destination for international NFL games.

Goodell told NFL Network in Munich, “We are definitely going to Spain, we announced that. We expect to return to Mexico City. We expect to return to Brazil. We will certainly be back in the U.K. And we’re also looking at the potential of another game in the U.K. area – in Ireland, possibly.

“That’s a possibility. And we’ll certainly be back here in Germany. So, if that total is eight, that’s what we’re shooting for.”

Goodell also said the NFL is working to hold a game in Berlin next season after playing this year’s matchup at the home of German soccer club Bayern Munich.

The NFL made its South American debut with a game at Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo during Week One in September this year.

Despite its aggressive approach to raising its profile around the world, the league last month said it has no near-term plans to hold its biggest annual event, the Super Bowl, outside the U.S.

The Global Markets Program grants the NFL clubs access to international areas for marketing, fan engagement and commercialization as part of the NFL’s long-term plan to spread the game and their brand globally.

Expansion of the International Series benefits the NFL beyond simply increasing the popularity of the league.

With flag football entering the Olympics as an official event in 2028, the NFL is spreading the game around the globe in an effort that could even include moving the Pro Bowl Games overseas.

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