The 49ers are set for nine home games in the 2026 NFL season, but it seems increasingly likely that one of those “home” matchups is played internationally, instead of at Levi’s Stadium.

Principal owner Jed York already said this week the team “will most likely give up a home game this season to play abroad.” And new San Francisco CEO Al Guido shared a similar expectation in an interview with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco on Monday at Radio Row in downtown San Francisco’s Moscone Center.

Maiocco asked Guido if it’s “safe to say the 49ers will be playing at least one international game in 2026.”

“Yeah, that’s safe to say,” Guido answered. “That’s for sure safe to say. Where? I don’t know. You have better sources than I do. I actually don’t know.”

The NFL’s current format of a 17-game season means each team alternates how many home games they have each year. For example, in the 2025 season, the 49ers had eight home games and nine road games. Next season, that will flip, so San Francisco will have nine home games and eight road games.

“The NFL does a good job notifying us,” Guido continued. “We’ve already notified our season ticket members and our sponsors that it’s likely that we play an international home game based off the [nine home games] scenario. And I think our fan base is looking forward to it. You cover us. You’re on the road every week. It’s just amazing to me over the course of the last five years to see how many fans of ours show up in other away stadiums.

“I had the privilege of going down to … Mexico City where we were the road team against the Cardinals, and so I think our fans are actually excited about it. Frankly, it’s sort of changed within the league where it might have been viewed as a negative before, but I think our fan base actually looks forward to it.”

With the strong possibility of playing in an international game already established, the next question becomes where the San Francisco is likely to play. As Maiocco noted, the 49ers have international rights to Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. Does that mean the team is likely to host a game in one of those markets?

“It does not mean that,” Guido explained. “In your nine-game season, it is likely that you’ll play a home international game. The NFL selects which market you go to.”

For context, the current NFL schedule for international games is as follows: London, England (three games); Madrid, Spain; Munich, Germany; Melbourne, Australia; Mexico City, Mexico; Paris, France; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Here’s a look at the 9️⃣ International NFL Games for the 2026 season. 🏈🇬🇧🇪🇸🇦🇺🇲🇽🇩🇪🇫🇷🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/rHxbvYQcXq

— Greene Zone Sports (@greene_zone) February 3, 2026

“Sure, they ask you some questions, and it might matter what marketing rights you have,” Guido said. “But the reality is, just because we have marketing rights in Mexico, the UK and the UAE doesn’t mean they couldn’t put us in another country. They could.

“Now, we’ve done a really good job in those markets growing fan bases. We’re No. 1 by a lot of metrics in those markets, and so it’d be safe to assume that they would probably lean on putting us in one of those markets, but it’s not a guarantee.”

York noted his preference for Mexico City, which is where the 49ers played their last international game against the Arizona Cardinals in 2022, as Guido alluded to. And given the team’s already-strong presence there, along with its close proximity compared to all of the other locations, the Faithful and the 49ers themselves likely wouldn’t mind another trip south of the border for the upcoming season.

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