Expanding Horizons: The NFL Considers Australia, Ireland, Brazil, and Spain as New Hosts

While Mexico and the NFL have paused their plans to renovate the Azteca stadium for the 2026 World Cup, the league is already looking to other territories to host official matches.

The NFL in Australia and Ireland?

Peter O’Reilly, the NFL’s head of international affairs, announced Tuesday that the league is considering Australia and Ireland, among others, to host a regular-season game in the future.

“Australia is among a set of markets, and it’s not a small set, that we are looking at for the future,” Peter O’Reilly said.

Dublin, Ireland, is also among the possible territories being considered.

Brazil and Spain, the new destinations of the NFL

This season the NFL incorporated Sao Paulo, Brazil, with the game of week one of the 2024 season between the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles, the first to take place in South America, as one of the new markets that will receive a game regular campaign.

Last February the league announced that for the 2025 season Madrid, Spain, will also host a game at the newly renovated Santiago Bernabéu stadium, home of local soccer league champion Real Madrid.

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SET TIME. 🔥 Packers and Eagles face-to-face in the NFL São Paulo Game on Friday, September 6th, at 9:15 pm! 🇧🇷🏈

THE TIME IS SET. 🔥 Packers and Eagles will matchup in NFL São Paulo Game on a Friday, Sept. 6th, at 8:15pm ET! 🇧🇷🏈@packers | @Eagles | @NFL pic.twitter.com/dMTvcRB2XZ

— NFL Brasil (@NFLBrasil) May 15, 2024

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Distance, the factor to take into account

One of the main challenges in choosing Australia as the venue for a match will be the distance from the United States, the manager mentioned.

“When you start talking about Asia and Australia, you talk about distance and logistics. Those factors are real. But our role is to really look at everyone, see where the fan base is strong and do the diligence and evaluations,” stressed the NFL’s head of international affairs.

As part of “The International Home Marketing Area”, a program that the NFL launched in 2021 to internationalize its brand, Australia has been assigned the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams, as the teams with the rights to have commercial activity there.

In December of last year, the league announced that it intends to play up to eight regular-season games outside the United States beginning with the 2025 campaign.

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Australia is among the sites the NFL is seriously considering as a possible future host of an international game. That could happen as early as 2025, but the logistics are complex and the league is still looking into it. pic.twitter.com/CwvwnmpT3T

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) May 21, 2024

With information from EFE.

2024-05-22 04:26:00
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