After games in Brazil, London and Germany this season, the NFL plans to keep on growing its international footprint.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Sunday that the league is aiming for eight international games next season, with returns to those three countries and plans to travel to new countries as well. Goodell spoke about the issue on NFL Network, ahead of the matchup between the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers in Munich.
The NFL announced in February that it will host a regular-season game in Spain next season, holding the game in Real Madrid’s stadium. But Goodell also floated the idea of a return to Mexico City, where the league hasn’t played since 2022, and a possibility of hosting a game in Ireland.
“We are definitely going to Spain; we announced that,” Goodell said, speaking to NFL Network’s Colleen Wolfe on NFL GameDay Kickoff. “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’s eight, that’s what we’re shooting for.”
The NFL has played several games in London starting in 2007, switching off largely between Wembley Stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Sunday’s game marked the fourth matchup in Germany, with the first game in Munich in 2022 and two games in Frankfurt last season.
This year marked the NFL’s first trip to Brazil, with the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles facing off in São Paulo’s Arena Corinthians.
A return to Mexico City would also be interesting, as the NFL hasn’t played there in more than two years. The league has played four games there at Estadio Azteca — home of Club América and the Mexican national team — with the first in 2016. It was supposed to be five, but a game scheduled to take place between the Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City Chiefs in 2018 was relocated back to the states a week before the matchup, with the league citing poor field conditions.
As for Ireland, it would be a first for the NFL. Ireland has hosted a number of college football games in the NCAA Emerald Isle Classic, with games in Dublin’s Aviva Stadium. (This year’s Ireland game saw Georgia Tech upset Florida State in the final seconds.) The NFL hosted a preseason game in Dublin’s Croke Park in 1997, marking another potential site.
Goodell eying eight international matchups is likely to include a few repeats in some of those countries. The NFL played three games in London this year; however, at this time, it is unclear what combination of games the league is planning on.
