Sports fans around the world are rushing to National Football League games as the slate of contests played outside the United States expands.
During the 2026–27 season, American football fans abroad will be able to enjoy nine National Football League (NFL) games. The first will be September 11 in Melbourne — the NFL’s first game in Australia — and the last, November 22, in Mexico City.
Those games will bookend a game in Rio de Janeiro, followed by three more in London and one each in Paris, Madrid and Munich.
The record number of international contests is part of the NFL’s long-standing effort to bring a uniquely American sport to the world. “We’ve consistently seen very strong demand,” Managing Director of NFL International Gerrit Meier says, noting that the league’s 2025 debut in Dublin drew a sellout crowd.
Meanwhile, 6.2 million fans streamed the NFL Network’s international games in 2025, a 32% increase over the prior year.
(State Dept./S. Gemeny Wilkinson)
Forging connections
The NFL played its first overseas contest 50 years ago at Tokyo’s Korakuen Stadium August 16, 1976. That contest and all others played abroad for the next three decades were exhibition matches that did not count toward final standings.
That changed October 2, 2005, when the Arizona Cardinals defeated the San Francisco 49ers in a regular season game at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. The game drew a record-setting 103,000 fans. The NFL’s Meier says that, since then, playing “meaningful” regular season games abroad has been critical for growing a strong, global fan base.
Through its Global Markets Program, the NFL carefully plans games to strengthen relevant cultural ties. The New Orleans Saints — from Louisiana, a U.S. state that is a center of French-speaking culture in the United States — will play in Paris October 25.
From left: A Pittsburgh Steelers fan wishes his team luck in Dublin. Fans sport Miami Dolphins colors in Frankfurt, Germany. (© Niall Carson/PA Images/Getty Images, © Arne Dedert/picture alliance/Getty Images)
The league incorporates host countries’ art and culture into game-day festivities. In November 2025, the Brandenburg Gate served as a backdrop for a field that gave fans a chance to practice their own skills before the NFL game.
Each NFL team honors an “International Fan of the Year,” recognizing their enthusiasm for the sport. What’s more, top athletes from around the world increasingly play American football — some for the NFL, through its International Player Pathway Program.
Football diplomacy
Crystal footballs have served as diplomatic gifts. (State Dept.)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio — who has given foreign dignitaries U.S.-branded helmets or crystal footballs — calls the Super Bowl, the NFL championship game, an unofficial U.S. holiday. The game, Rubio says, offers “a real slice of Americana.”
The Department of State works with the NFL to build relationships abroad that can share America’s sports culture. For their part, league officials aspire to eventually play 16 games abroad each year, including in Asia.