NFL considering Ireland game in 2025, says Roger Goodell
The NFL could stage an international game in Ireland in 2025, according to the league’s Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Speaking at Sunday’s game between the Carolina Panthers and New York Giants in Munich, Goodell confirmed the league’s plan to play eight games outside of the US next season.
“We are definitely going to Spain, we [already] announced that,” he told NFL Network reporter Colleen Wolfe.
“We expect to return to Mexico City. We expect to return to Brazil. We will certainly be back in the UK, and we’re also looking at the potential of another game in the UK area in Ireland, possibly.
He continued, “That’s a possibility. And we’ll certainly be back here in Germany. So if that total’s eight, that’s what we’re shooting for.”
Although Ireland has never held a regular season NFL game to-date, Dublin’a Aviva Stadium has hosted six College Football Classic college football games since 2012.
Another iconic Dublin venue, Croke Park, could also be a potential option for the league, after hosting a preseason matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears in 1997.
From next year, the NFL will be increasing its number of international fixtures to up to eight per season.
Meanwhile, the league will head to Spain for the first time in 2025, with Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium set to host a game next year.
In September, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Green Bay Packers at Sao Paolo’s Arena Corinthians in Brazil during the opening week of the season, marking the first ever NFL fixture in South America.
The league has played five overseas games in total during the 2024 season, of which three took place in London in October.
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