The National Football League (NFL) has expanded its Global Markets Programme (GMP), with four new clubs and five new markets set to participate in 2024.
The announcement was made by the NFL following approval from the International Committee at the 2024 Annual Meeting in Orlando. The four clubs joining the programme include:
- Detroit Lions, granted rights across Austria, Canada, Germany and Switzerland
- Indianapolis Colts, granted rights across Austria and German
- New York Giants, granted rights in Germany
- Cleveland Browns, granted rights in Nigeria
Launched in 2022, the GMP grants NFL clubs international marketing rights to expand brand recognition and fan engagement outside the US, using various strategies such as events and commercial ventures.
Currently, this initiative involves 25 clubs across 19 international markets, hoping to reflect the NFL’s commitment to global expansion.
Peter O’Reilly, Executive Vice President of Club Business, Major Events & International at the NFL, commented: “The momentum of the Global Markets Program underscores the strong commitment of NFL clubs to growing the game and their passionate fan bases around the world. Clubs are seeing the value and opportunity in new markets and aligning with the league to accelerate that growth together.
“We can’t wait to see the ongoing impact of the program on fandom and global growth in this season and in years ahead, both in new and existing markets and via new clubs joining and active clubs deepening their strategic commitments.”
The announcement also unveiled five new markets, which are:
- Argentina and Columbia that both had rights granted to the Miami Dolphins
- Nigeria that had rights granted to the Cleveland Browns
- South Korea and Japan both had rights granted to the Los Angeles Rams
NFL clubs are able to secure rights to international markets by submitting proposals to the International Committee for evaluation annually.
Through the GMP, clubs are granted rights for a minimum of five years, allowing them to conduct activities in international markets similar to those in the US market.
With global expansion high on its list of priorities, the NFL’s presence grew in the UK recently. Marking International Women’s Day, the US NFL teams New York Jets and Chicago Bears extended the reach of the NFL Girls Flag League, a sport that is set to make its debut at the 2028 Olympics.
Meanwhile, international games have also been confirmed in Brazil and Spain as the NFL pursues a broader global presence.
