The NFL’s quest for world domination showcasing the game of gridiron football to a larger international audience is never-ending. This year the league will make its debut in Brazil, and Spain is on tap for the 2025 season. Which other countries are on the radar? Well, we might see the NFL in Australia, but two other places under consideration are the Republic of Ireland and France.
This story comes from the Irish Times, who interviewed NFL UK general manager Henry Hodgson.
“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.”
While the NFL has never had regular season action in Dublin, there have been eight college football games played at either Croke Park or Aviva Stadium. The most recent trip to Dublin saw Notre Dame soundly defeat Navy 42-3 in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, and this season will see Georgia Tech take on Florida State.
Unlike Ireland, which hosted a preseason game in the 1990s, France has never hosted anything NFL related. Paris is gearing up to host the 2024 Summer Olympics, with the Stade de France set for the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as track and field.
Last year the NFL announced a collaboration with the Fédération Française de Football Américain (FFFA) for the first-ever youth NFL flag football program in France. This comes at a time when the next Summer Olympics in Los Angeles will include flag football for the first time.
I’m sure in due time we’ll have the answers as to when and where the NFL will go as part of its International Series. Whether or not you agree with a domestic league hosting regular season games abroad, it’s not only here to stay, it’s here to expand.