NASHVILLE.- Australia is among the countries that NFL is evaluating to host regular season games starting in the 2025 season.
Peter O’Reilly, the league’s head of international affairs, indicated Tuesday during the NFL’s spring meetings that Australia is among the markets in the conversation. The league recently announced that they will open an NFL Academy in September on Australia’s Gold Coast.
“Australia is among the list, it is not a small group of markets that we are evaluating,” said O’Reilly.
O’Reilly noted that Australia has a strong NFL fan base, broadcast partners and that the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams have the marketing rights.
He updated NFL owners on the countries league officials are eyeing as potential venues. The league announced in February before the Super Bowl that the 2025 season will include a game at Real Madrid’s iconic Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
The NFL has expanded its international presence in recent years, and owners voted in December to authorize the league to expand international games to eight each season. The league announced last week four games in London and Germany for 2024.
Philadelphia opens the season by hosting the Green Bay Packers in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on September 6.
Another possible destination for the NFL:
Dublin, Ireland, is another market under consideration for future NFL games. League officials will visit markets this summer as part of the process to assess fan support, stadiums and locations for teams before games.
O’Reilly indicated those details are part of what the league considers when choosing a city.
“When you start talking about Asia, the Pacific, Australia, we talk about distance and logistics and all the football components,” he said. “Those factors are real. But our role is to see the global market, see where there is a strong presence of fans and do what is necessary, the evaluations.”
Source: AP
