Highlights
- The NFL eyes Paris and Dublin for hosting games in expansion efforts.
- Expansion of games in Europe seems imminent as NFL looks to solidify its global presence.
- League executives are confident in European adoption of American Football in the future.
As the NFL continues its mission to spread football to every corner of the globe, the league has noted two more European cities as potential candidates to be added to the International Series. Despite already having five international games booked for the 2024 regular season, the NFL is showing no signs of slowing down.
The Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers are set to debut the American product in Brazil in the opening week of the season, emphasizing the growth of football in a global sense. The city of Paris seems to be the obvious choice as to which market the NFL should attempt to break into next, and Dublin is right behind it.
Henry Hodgson, the NFL’s GM of the UK office, spoke with the Associated Press’ Ken Maguire, and his comments seemed to suggest that further expansion into Europe is imminent.
“There’s a feasibility study, as we would call it, in a number of different European cities and Dublin is one of those,” Hodgson said. “Looking at the stadiums, taking local meetings… we’ll take away all of that information, digest it and determine what the next steps are. That’s something that’s happening in Dublin, it’s happening in Paris for example, and a number of other cities around the world as well.”
Consistent and meaningful additions to the NFL’s International Series will be critical to the league’s ultimate goals. While they have managed to tap into multiple new markets, the NFL is still ultimately hoping to solidify and grow its presence in Europe.
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International games set to take place in Brazil, England and Germany
The NFL seems determined to host as many games as possible outside the United States. Not only is the NFL looking at more European cities to host future games, but they’ve also looked into Australia. For now, we know that there are five international games coming our way in 2024.
NFL International Series Games in 2024 |
||
---|---|---|
Matchup |
Date |
Venue/City |
Packers vs. Eagles |
Fri, Sept. 6 |
Corinthians Arena / Sao Paolo, Brazil |
Jets vs. Vikings |
Sun, Oct. 6 |
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium / London, England |
Jaguars vs. Bears |
Sun, Oct. 13 |
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium / London, England |
Patriots vs. Jaguars |
Sun, Oct. 20 |
Wembley Stadium / London England |
Giants vs. Panthers |
Sun, Nov. 10 |
Allianz Arena / Munich, Germany |
Ultimately, this all comes down to money for the NFL, as we’ve seen some massive ticket prices set for international games.
So far, we’ve seen some very engaged crowds across the pond and there’s no reason to think Paris and Dublin crowds would be sitting on their hands should they land a future regular season game.
It may seem like a far-fetched idea to think of Europeans adopting American Football on a large scale, but according to members of the NFL’s top brass, it’s simply a matter of time.
Source: Associated Press
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