Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner, has mentioned the possibility of an international game held in Ireland as the league looks to significantly step up its overseas schedule.
Speaking on NFL Daily Kickoff at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, ahead of the game between the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers, Goodell detailed the NFL’s ambition to hold eight international games next year.
The league has been embarking on a significant upsurge in its global presence this year, budding on a long-running series of games held in London, Munich, Frankfurt and Mexico City.
Real Madrid’s Bernabéu was announced as the host venue for a forthcoming Spanish game, to be held from 2025 onwards, earlier this year. Another major development saw the NFL host its first fixture in Brazil, taking place on 6 September 2024 at the Corinthians Arena in São Paulo.
“We are definitely going to Spain, we announced that,” Goodell remarked at the German fixture on Sunday (10 November). “We expect to return to Mexico City. We expect to return to Brazil.
“We will certainly be back in the UK And we’re also looking at the potential of another game in the UK 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 International Series first began in 2007 with the first of the London Games, held at the city’s Twickenham Stadium, the home of the England national rugby union and league teams.
London Games have been held every year since with the exception of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The games have shifted between being held at Twickenham, the Wembley national football stadium, and the Premier League ground Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Mexico Games followed later, beginning in 2016 and subsequently held in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022 at the Estadio Azteca. The Germany Games took place in 2022, 2023 and 2024, split between the Allianz Arena (2022 and 2024) and the Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt (two games in 2023).
Holding a game in Ireland could be a logical next step for the league’s international expansion plans. Regular air travel links between Dublin and various East Coast US cities as well as Ireland’s proximity to the UK, the longest-standing host nation of NFL international games, would make logistical sense.
Dublin is also home to two major stadiums suited to hosting NFL fixtures. The Aviva Stadium, usually used for rugby fixtures, has hosted college football games whilst Croke Park, the national Gaelic games venue, hosted a preseason game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears in 1997.
