NFL commissioner Roger Goodell confident league will expand internationally
· Yahoo Sports
An NFL expansion to eventually include an international team (or teams) is no longer a matter of "if" – it's a matter of "when."
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in an interview with German outlet RTL/ntv that he has "no doubt" the league will include international teams in the future.
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"At some point, there will be NFL teams outside the USA," Goodell said. "I have no doubt that this will happen one day."
Part of the calculus for determining the location for an international team could be the capacity for the host city and host country to put on a future Super Bowl.
"There are definitely international cities that could host something like that," Goodell said. "But we would like to see an NFL team in such a city first."
Marketing American football to an international audience has been a clear priority for the NFL under Goodell's tenure. The NFL commissioner assumed his position in 2006, and in 2007, the league played its first International Series game in London.
Since that first game, there have been more than 50 NFL games played on international soil. Most have them have taken place in London, but the league has expanded its efforts to host games in other countries: Mexico, Germany, Brazil, Ireland and Spain.
In 2026, there will be a record nine international games on the NFL schedule including games in two new host countries: Australia and France. Earlier this year, the league voted to approve a 10-game international slate starting in 2027.
The NFL's first international game in 2026 will be a Week 1 matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia. In the United States, that game will be aired on Sept. 10, though it will take place on Sept. 11 in local (Australian) time.
NFL international schedule 2026
- Week 1 (Sept. 10): Los Angeles Rams vs. San Francisco 49ers | Melbourne Cricket Ground | Melbourne
- Week 3 (Sept. 27): Dallas Cowboys vs. Baltimore Ravens | Maracaña Stadium | Rio de Janeiro
- Week 4 (Oct. 4): Washington Commanders vs. Indianapolis Colts | Tottenham Hotspur Stadium | London
- Week 5 (Oct. 11): Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Philadelphia Eagles | Tottenham Hotspur Stadium | London
- Week 6 (Oct. 18): Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans | Wembley Stadium | London
- Week 7 (Oct. 25): New Orleans Saints vs. Pittsburgh Steelers | Stade de France | Paris
- Week 9 (Nov. 8): Atlanta Falcons vs. Cincinnati Bengals | Bernabéu | Madrid
- Week 10 (Nov. 15): Detroit Lions vs. New England Patriots | Allianz Arena | Munich
- Week 11 (Nov. 22): San Francisco 49ers vs. Minnesota Vikings | Estadio Banorte | Mexico City
This year will be the fifth straight to feature three games in London. Outside of that, all of the sites for international games are noteworthy in some way.
Melbourne and Paris are hosting their respective countries' first NFL regular season games, but Rio de Janeiro is also getting its first NFL game. The last two Brazil games in the NFL's international series both took place in São Paulo.
This year's slate also features the third ever Munich game after last year's Germany game took place in Berlin. Mexico City is also getting its first NFL regular season game since 2022. And Madrid's game at Bernabéu is just the second NFL regular season game in Spain after the league made its Spanish debut last year.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell confident league will expand internationally