The future of the NFL International Series

The NFL International Series has been one of the league’s great success stories. From a single game in London more than 15 years ago to more than 40 fixtures in four countries on both sides of the Atlantic and plans for a fifth next year, the spread of the game outside the United States has forever changed the league landscape.

But where could the International Series expand to next? What markets is the NFL targeting, and which ones could potentially host international games in the years ahead?

 

When did the NFL International Series start?

Before we look forward, we have to look at where the International Series is now and where it has come from. The NFL International Series started in 2007, when the New York Giants played the Miami Dolphins at London’s Wembley Stadium. Before this game was played, there were a lot of critics who said it would never work – what about the time difference? What about the playing surface? Would any fans even turn up?

This was put to bed very quickly once tickets went on sale, with 40,000 being snapped up in the first 90 minutes, and an ultimate attendance of over 81,000. Although it was a low-scoring affair, I don’t think the NFL could have dreamed of their first international game being much more of a success, especially with the winners going on to become Super Bowl champions that same season.

For the next five years, Wembley hosted an annual fixture before the series was expanded to two games, and soon to three before the inclusion of other stadiums and then other countries, playing four times in Mexico between 2016 and 2022. That same year, the NFL played its first ever game in Germany, expanding to two games last season. This season will see the league’s first game in Brazil, and Spain will follow in 2025. But where next? I’ve picked out a few potential venues across the globe and looked into their pros and cons.

The Americas

Starting close to the States, the International Series has seen games played in Mexico, and later this year we will have a game played in South America for the first time, but what about the neighbours to the north in Canada? Although the Bills played a yearly regular season game at the Rogers Centre in Toronto for 6 years starting in 2008, those weren’t part of the International Series, and since that agreement ended in 2013, there have been no games played in Canada.

I believe there are two main reasons for this, the main reason being that it is so easy to travel from Canada to America for a game. I know a lot of Canadians who make trips a number of times a year to see their team play. The second reason is that I think at the time the NFL wanted to put its focus on the European market. This has paid off and they now have a firm foothold on this side of the Atlantic. However, I think that the Canadian market is something they will start looking at again with Canada helping to host the FIFA World Cup in 2026. After that tournament is over and they have shown that they can host big sporting events in their stadiums, I believe the NFL will soon make the move to make them part of the International Series.

Mexico hasn’t hosted a NFL game in a few years. This is due to the improvements they are making to the Estadio Azteca, which will also host a World Cup game in 2026. Once the improvements to the stadium are done, I think games will resume in Mexico as they have been successful in the past, drawing a crowd of over 78,000 in the last game there in 2022.

This year, as I have already mentioned, we’ll be getting our first game in South America in Brazil. It is being held at the Arena Corinthians in São Paulo on the Friday evening in week 1, which shows how much faith the NFL have in this game, making it a primetime game and the second game of the season. I hope that this will become an annual tradition for the NFL; playing a game in Brazil and on the Friday night of the opening weekend every year would really give fans something to look forward to.

After Brazil has been established as a home for the NFL, I think the next places in South America that the NFL might look to go are Uruguay and Argentina. This will not be for some time, but I believe that once both countries host the World Cup in 2030 that the NFL might look at expanding to these countries. I know I keep bringing up the World Cup (and it won’t be the last time I do it in this article), but it has been proven that football stadiums work to host NFL games in the past and I expect the same in the future.

Europe

Both the UK and Germany have already hosted multiple games over many years with great success. Next year, Spain will host its first game in Madrid at the newly renovated Santiago Bernabéu. It has a retractable field very much like the one at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and will have a capacity of 85,000 by the time the NFL comes to town. I fully expect this also to become a yearly game like the rest of the International Series.

Where do I see the NFL moving in Europe next? Let’s start with France. The French fans have been crying out for a game to be played in France for a number of years. I can see it happening in maybe 2027 or 2028 with the newly revamped Stade de France hosting the Summer Olympics this year being the perfect venue for it.

The next European country I see hosting a game is Ireland. The UK’s nearest neighbour has long hosted college games in Dublin and this year will be hosting a week 0 game between Florida State and Georgia Tech. There is an argument that more goes into hosting a college game than an NFL game, so I believe they could easily host a game and the Rooney family, who own the Pittsburgh Steelers, have made no secret that they want to be the first NFL team to play a regular season game in Ireland. The family have strong Irish roots and the Steelers have Global Marketing Rights (GMR) in Ireland, which puts them in a perfect position to host the first game there.

After France and Ireland have had games played in their countries, I think the next place in Europe the NFL might look is to Italy. This might come as a bit of a shock to some people, but with both AC and Inter Milan looking to leave the San Siro and building a new stadium, this would be the perfect time for the NFL to start laying some groundwork. It might well be 10-15 years down the line, but it is definitely something worth keeping an eye on.

Rest of the world

So with the NFL already bedding in in Europe and South America, where else could they look to for expansion in the coming years? The first country that comes to mind for me is Australia. The LA Rams are already in very preliminary talks with the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) about having a game there. This makes a lot of sense as the Rams already have GMR in Australia, and being a west coast team would help with the time difference to the United States. Earlier this year, WWE hosted its first ever live PPV in Australia that was sold out and a tremendous success. This has paved the way for the NFL to make a game happen in Australia. I don’t expect it to happen soon but it’s definitely something I think will happen.

Moving around the Pacific ring, Japan is probably the most obvious Asian country to look to host a game. It most certainly has the infrastructure and the stadiums to host NFL games and once again the LA Rams have GMR in Japan, so I think as well as Australia, this could easily be pulled off in a few years time with some planning.

The next country is probably my most out-there of all of my suggestions so far and that is India. Now, I’m realistic and know this probably will never happen but just hear me out for a bit. The country has the stadiums that could probably handle a NFL game; if the MCG is capable of hosting a game, why not one of India’s cricket stadiums? In 2022, the population of India was 1.417 billion; if the NFL could get even 1% of that, they would have 14 million new fans and that is something that needs to be looked at seriously.

The Middle East is also a region where I think the NFL could expand to. We all have thoughts on the politics of the area, but I’m simply looking at them hosting NFL games. With the finances that countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE have and Qatar hosting the last World Cup, I think it’s something that definitely will be looked at by the NFL. We all know that money talks in this world, so I would not be surprised if we ended up getting games played out in these countries.

Finally, let’s look at what opportunities Africa can offer the NFL. NFL Africa has been growing at a remarkable pace over the last few years. This is in no small part to people like Osi Umenyiora who have put time and money into NFL Africa and now it has produced some amazing NFL talent. But what about hosting a game? Again I will bring this back to football because with South Africa hosting the 2010 World Cup and Morocco set to host the 2030 World Cup, I think both countries can make a good case for being able to host an NFL game in the future. It might not be soon but I can definitely see it happening.

What will happen in the future?

While I know I have mentioned a lot of places in this article, I don’t expect them all to be used and most certainly not any time soon, and the ones I think are most likely for the near future are Australia, France and Ireland. The NFL shouldn’t rush this if they want it to work. They need to take their time securing the fanbases in each country before expanding to the next one. But as we all know with how quickly tickets for International Series games sell, there is most definitely an appetite for the sport. One of the main teams to be concentrating on expanding their brand globally is the LA Rams; they have GMRs in more territories than any other team and if they do it correctly, they could benefit like the Jaguars have done by creating a fan base in the UK.

It is truly becoming a global game and with flag football set to be part of the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028, I don’t think it can be stopped now.