The NFL is set to have its biggest ever international year in 2025 now that the Irish capital of Dublin has been confirmed as a host city for a regular season game.
Croke Park, the headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), will host the fixture, which will feature the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers opponent has not yet been named.
Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner, teased the idea of a Dublin game late last year. With the fixture now confirmed, Dublin joins London, Madrid and Berlin in hosting NFL games this year.
“We are delighted to officially bring a regular season NFL game to Ireland as part of our 2025 International Games slate,” said Executive Vice President International, League Events and Club Business at the NFL Peter O’Reilly.
“Both the NFL and the Steelers franchise have deep roots and history in Ireland, and we’re looking forward to making our regular-season debut in Dublin, bringing our game to a large and passionate Irish fan base and underlining the NFL’s commitment to global growth.”
The NFL’s choice of Dublin makes a lot of commercial sense for the league. The US is home to a large population of Irish heritage, meaning strong cultural, sporting and economic links have been built up between the two countries over generations.
In its statement, the league noted Steelers’ owner, Art Rooney II’s, familial connections to Ireland as being a key reason as to why the team was chosen to host the Dublin game.
The fixture is being organised in cooperation with the Irish government and the GAA, which as stated above is the owner of Croke Park. The stadium serves as the host venue for all Gaelic football and hurling finals events, with a maximum capacity that exceeds 82,000.
International expansion has been on the NFL’s agenda for some time. The first international series was held in London in 2007, and the UK capital has since hosted 38 other games with attendances consistently in excess of 80,000.
Meanwhile, Mexico City has hosted five games since 2016, while Germany has hosted four since 2022 – two in Munich and two in Frankfurt. Berlin will host a regular season game this year, as will the Spanish capital of Madrid, with the game due to be held at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeus stadium.
In a major development last year, São Paolo became the first Brazilian city to host an NFL game as the league looked to step up its Latin American presence and connect more with a growing fanbase in the region.
As the world’s most valuable league, it is unsurprising that various countries are keen to welcome its teams to their shores. The move to Dublin can be expected to provide a huge boost to the local economy in hospitality, travel and tourism, among other segments.
“This is a major vote of confidence in Ireland’s ability to host world class events and in Dublin’s reputation as one of the most welcoming cities in the world,” said Ireland’s Minister for Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan TD.
“Hosting a regular season NFL game in 2025 will have huge benefits for Irish tourism, the wider economy and our sports ecosystem. It will also build upon the deep cultural, family and economic ties between Ireland and the US.
“I look forward to welcoming thousands of American football fans from the US, Europe and further afield to our shores for this historic game, and also to the ongoing collaboration with the NFL, Sport Ireland and American Football Ireland to grow American football participation in Ireland, both the tackle and flag format of the game, as part of the government’s commitment to increasing the number of people regularly participating in sport and physical activity.”
