Spain to host NFL regular-season recreation in Madrid throughout 2025 season – NFL.com

NFL.com
LAS VEGAS — The NFL’s explosive development has prompted the league so as to add a brand new vacation spot to its worldwide slate: Madrid, Spain.
The NFL will maintain its first recreation within the capital of Spain in 2025, the league introduced throughout a Friday new convention on the Mandalay Bay Conference Middle in Las Vegas. In partnership with Actual Madrid, the sport will happen on the lately renovated Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, dwelling to the world-famous La Liga soccer membership.
“Taking part in a recreation in Madrid in 2025 highlights the continued growth of the league’s international footprint and the accelerated ambitions to take our recreation to extra followers all over the world,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stated in an announcement. “We’re proud to associate with Actual Madrid C.F., a worldwide model, along with the Metropolis of Madrid and Comunidad de Madrid, to deliver a spectacular common season recreation to Spain on the world-class Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.”
In simply two months, the NFL has swiftly expanded its worldwide footprint. Spain would be the fifth totally different nation to take part within the NFL’s Worldwide Video games, following the UK, Mexico, Germany and Brazil, and the third European nation to take action. Friday’s announcement adopted a Dec. 13 announcement that Brazil will host an NFL regular-season recreation within the 2024 marketing campaign, the primary ever to be held in South America. The Philadelphia Eagles are the designated team to play within the São Paulo recreation, which is able to happen in Week 1 on Friday, Sept. 6.
It is all by design, in response to Peter O’Reilly, NFL govt VP of membership enterprise, worldwide and league occasions.
“In December, NFL homeowners voted to develop the variety of NFL video games performed internationally yearly, transferring from 4 league-operated video games to now as much as eight regular-season video games beginning in 2025,” O’Reilly stated Friday. “And what that does is permit us to discover new markets, new companions, new passionate fan bases all over the world who love the NFL and have not had the prospect to expertise the NFL stay and in-person.
“We couldn’t be extra excited to deliver the most effective of the NFL, the most effective of our groups, our star gamers to our greater than 13 million passionate followers in Spain and to associate with one of many best international soccer golf equipment in Actual Madrid and a very world-class and progressive stadium.”
The primary-ever recreation in Madrid — for which the league unveiled a brand new emblem proudly that includes “Madrid Sport” on Friday — will happen in 2025, and never 2024, as a result of the NFL and Actual Madrid solely lately finalized their settlement. The NFL is not in an enormous hurry, although, and with the latest renovations of Bernabéu Stadium now full, the 2 events felt it was the proper time to strike a deal.
The renovated Bernabéu Stadium contains a retractable enjoying floor that makes it attainable to switch the soccer pitch with an NFL-caliber subject, eliminating an enormous hurdle to holding a recreation on the facility. It additionally follows within the footsteps of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in England, which was purposely constructed to function each the house of the Premier League membership and in addition as a top-tier vacation spot for worldwide NFL video games. Since its completion, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has hosted eight NFL video games, together with two within the 2023 season, and in September, the NFL extended its partnership with the club through the 2029-2030 season.
Ought to every thing go in response to plan, Madrid might develop into the following mainstay within the worldwide slate, which does not appear to be slowing down any time quickly.
“We have now realized loads through the years,” O’Reilly stated of the potential for worldwide video games, “and I feel the excellent news is that it is not seen, by your time period, as a logistical nightmare anymore due to the way in which the groups, staff operations of us, our operational staff, has been in a position to ship not solely an awesome journey staff expertise, stadium expertise, apply facility expertise, however have been in a position to try this once more throughout a number of stadiums in Europe and now South America.
“Nothing imminent by way of going to Asia or Australia, however that is one thing that we proceed to contemplate as a result of there are clearly nice stadiums, nice companions there. The journey is an element, and that shall be one thing we proceed to take a look at. However there are actual alternatives in actual elements of the world which might be necessary to achieve with our recreation, and we’ll look to proceed to try this and discover that operationally.”
Enlargement of the Worldwide Sequence advantages the NFL past merely rising the recognition of the league. With flag soccer coming into the Olympics as an official occasion in 2028, the NFL is spreading the sport across the globe in an effort that might even embrace transferring the Professional Bowl Video games abroad.
“We have been actually energized with the way in which the Professional Bowl Video games has advanced in its reimagined type the final two years,” O’Reilly stated. “To your level, with flag soccer on the middle of it, the largest stars within the NFL, as we noticed final Sunday, having a good time and really competitively enjoying flag soccer. As I described earlier than, that showcase that in 2028 nations all over the world – each men and women – shall be enjoying on that platform.
“We’re contemplating all choices. Clearly, the worldwide development of our recreation is necessary. So, which might be there alternatives to create extra moments internationally? Nothing is imminent there, however we might not rule that out if there was the correct match and the correct alternative so as to add a world Professional Bowl recreation someday sooner or later.”
For now, all that’s confirmed is a recreation in Spain in 2025. However all indicators level to a continued effort on the a part of the NFL to realize a foothold in as many worldwide nations as attainable within the years to return.
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