NFL commissioner talks expansion plans to Brazil, Spain

Stock Photo – d1ldvf68ux039x.cloudfront.net

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has revealed plans to expand to Brazil and Spain to popularize American football worldwide.

The league has held games in places like London, where the city hosted three games from Week 4 to Week 6 this season. Germany also had the honor of hosting Weeks 9 and 10 at Frankfurt Stadium.

Although Gooddell has yet to decide which Brazilian and Spanish cities will become the future host of NFL games, he said reviews were underway. He said Germany and the U.K. had fulfilled the expectations of expanding the NFL scope of operations there, as the millions of sold tickets had attested to.

“I think you’re going to see a very global NFL, not necessarily with franchises, but maybe like having one playing games on a global basis. And I see that happening in the next five to 10 years,” said the commissioner.

Goodell said the expansion leans more toward providing more opportunities for fans to watch NFL games and maximizing global viewership instead of creating new franchises.

Exploring untapped markets

The year 2023 saw the NFL devising strategies to expand its global presence after noticing strong interest in American football outside the U.S.

In September, the league sent its officials to assess sports stadiums in cities like Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, and Sao Paulo to see how they can accommodate future NFL games.

“That’s the diligence that we do constantly. What is the stadium like here? Could we play a game here? What does the support look like?” said NFL executive vice president Peter O’Reilly.

O’Reilly said a packed Super Bowl viewing party in Brazil in 2022 indicated the presence of untapped markets for the NFL to explore outside the states.

Apart from Brazil and Spain, the NFL is also considering expanding to Australia. However, O’Reilly said the logistics for holding NFL games there would be more challenging than those of Brazil and Spain.

“Brazil and Spain are two strong markets and two important markets. And importantly, there are also markets that clubs are interested in,” said the vice president.