The NFL is undoubtedly one of the biggest football leagues in the USA. However, the NFL recently has been trying to take the game outside the USA as well. The games on the coming 3 Sundays will be taking place in London. Now, reports suggest that the authorities are planning to organize matches in Spain and Brazil.
As per NFL executive VP Peter O’Reilly, the league already investigated if they could have regular season games in Rio de Janeiro and Madrid. O’Reilly made this revelation during his appearance on ESPN’s reporter Adam Schefter’s Podcast. He mentioned that there’s no confirmation yet, but they have been “building relationships”.
“That’s the diligence that we do constantly… What is the stadium like here? Could we play a game here?… So we’re not there yet in terms of timing on that. But you’re right, we are spending time in those markets, building relationships and looking at the stadia there,” he said.
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Adam Schefter took to X to break this news to the fans. He shared a post mentioning that the NFL might have future games in Brazil and Spain. However, it seems like the fans are not happy with this Idea. As soon as Schefter shared the post, fans expressed their disappointment in the comments section.
One fan wrote, “Steadily advancing into the global market”. Another fan wrote, “Wow that’s pretty dope”. One fan wrote, “Why play NFL over there when they already got footy there”. Another one wrote, “Terrible”. One fan commented, “Nobody wants this”. Another fan wrote, “Games played outside of the US are exhibition, and do not count”.
Notably, the NFL is still in talks and nothing is confirmed. However, if it happens, it must be good news for the fans of the league outside the USA.
Global growth of the league is the priority of the NFL
Everyone knows that people in Brazil and Spain love soccer. There are soccer fans all around the globe. So, the NFL is also looking forward to increasing the global reach of the league. According to reports, the global growth of the league is the priority of the authorities presently. That’s the main reason why they are looking at having games in Europe.
Peter O’Reilly mentioned that the NFL has seen that people have “a lot of interest in the NFL”. “We did a Super Bowl viewing party last year down in Brazil, and it was packed and the energy is there,” he said. Considering this, the league will have 3 games in London and 2 in Germany this year.
The league gave the international marketing rights of Spain to the Miami Dolphins and Chicago Bears in December 2021. As per the NFL Vice President, they have been looking at Australia as well, as a possible location. However, all of it is still in the talking phase, and nothing is confirmed.
For now, the Buffalo Bills will lock horns with the Jacksonville Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London on October 8. The Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans will also have a game there. As for Germany, the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs will play in Frankfurt. After that, an Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots game will also take place there.
It’ll be interesting to see what kind of response these NFL games get in Europe. If it turns out to be a hit, the league might organize more such matches outside the USA.