Love it or hate it, Commissioner Roger Goodell wants to globalize the NFL.
While there are many who want football to remain an American game played on American soil, there are many who love seeing the sport grow in popularity in other countries.
Goodell and the league have done a great job at just that. The NFL is exploding in popularity in Europe and long gone are the days of international games only taking place in London.
Germany has been a smash-hit for the NFL … As a matter of fact, most people feel like Germany as a whole is the most NFL-obsessed country in all of Europe.
According to reports, the league is evaluating other NFL-loving countries to possibly expand to.
Henry Hodgson, general manager of the NFL’s UK office, revealed to the Irish Star that feasibility studies are underway in several European cities, including Dublin and Paris.
“There’s a feasibility study, as we would call it, in a number of different European cities and Dublin is one of those,” Hodgson stated.
“Looking at the stadiums, taking local meetings, we’ll take away all of that information, digest it and determine what the next steps are.”
He further emphasized, “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.”
The NFL’s interest in Dublin is particularly noteworthy, with Hodgson specifying that Croke Park and Aviva Stadium are being evaluated for potential games.
Croke Park, boasting a seating capacity of 82,300, previously hosted a preseason matchup between the Bears and Steelers in 1997.
Aviva Stadium, with a capacity of 51,700, has a history of hosting college football games.
The league’s international endeavors are expanding rapidly, with the 2024 season set to feature five international games, including stops in London, Munich, and Sao Paulo.
The NFL is reportedly planning to play a game in Madrid, Spain in 2025 as well.
There have been rumblings that one of the end-goals for Goodell and the NFL is to have an entire division based in a city like London.
Of course, we are several years away from that possibly happening … But that’s something that’s thought to be on the league’s long-term radar.
What are your thoughts on the NFL considering expanding the international slate to Dublin and/or Paris?
What do you think about international games as a whole?
Are you in favor of globalizing the sport/league? … Or are you not a huge fan of the concept???
(Regardless, we know it’s certainly here to stay.)