Australia Middle East and Japan could be up next for NFL international games.
The next round of NFL international games are being discussed. Which new locations are on the target list.
In the NFL’s unending pursuit for global domination, international expansion continues. It began with a single game in London in 2007, to what will be a total of 39 games in London, five in Mexico, four in Germany and the first-ever NFL game in Brazil by the end of the 2024 season. According to the NFL’s executive vice president of club business, international and league events Peter O’Reilly, it’s not stopping there.
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“Yes, we are having those conversations in Australia,” O’Reilly said, according to the New York Times. “Australia is among a set — and it’s not a small set — of markets that we are looking at. And obviously Australia is an important market for us.”
The importance of Australia comes from the NFL’s Global Markets Program, which began in 2022. Originally, 25 teams were selected to freely market their team across eight countries, with the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles being named for the Aussie market. After four years of marketing in Australia, a game played in Sydney or Melbourne in 2026 for one or both of the clubs could become reality.
Along with Australia, the NFL is looking over all possible markets, including European countries France, Italy and Ireland to the Middle East — likely Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates — and Japan. There’s real interest in growing the market in the Asia Pacific region, though it brings logistical and competitive challenges.
“Our role is to really look at the globe, look at where the fan base is strong, and do the diligence, make the evaluation,” O’Reilly said.
