NFL 2026: How far can international expansion go?

The league will stage a record nine international regular-season games across four continents, seven countries, and eight stadiums, including historic firsts in Australia and France, as well as a long-awaited return to Mexico City.

With the 2026 season just days away, Peter O’Reilly, NFL Executive Vice President of Club Business, International and League Events, outlined the strategy behind this acceleration.

And the message is clear: for the NFL, the International Games are no longer simply special events. They have become a central part of the NFL’s international expansion strategy.

NFL

A record nine international games in 2026

The 2026 season will mark another major step in the league’s global development.

The NFL will stage nine regular-season games outside the United States, a new record.

The first will take place in Melbourne, where the San Francisco 49ers will face the Los Angeles Rams at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

It will be the first NFL regular-season game ever played in Australia.

A few weeks later, the league will also make its debut in Rio de Janeiro, where the Baltimore Ravens will take on the Dallas Cowboys.

The NFL will then continue its international schedule in Europe.

London will host three games before another historic occasion: the first NFL regular-season game in France, with the New Orleans Saints facing the Pittsburgh Steelers at Stade de France on October 25.

Madrid and Munich will also host games, while the NFL will return to Mexico City following a four-year absence.

For Peter O’Reilly, that growth is set to continue.

NFL

International Games are no longer standalone events

One of the most important messages from the conference concerned the way the NFL now views games played outside the United States.

They are no longer seen as an end in themselves.

That statement sums up the NFL’s current internationalisation strategy. The game itself attracts attention.

But everything developed around it is then designed to maintain that relationship with fans over the long term.

The NFL is relying on its local offices, media partners, flag football, club initiatives and the Global Markets Program.

NFL opens its ninth international office in Paris

That strategy also relies on establishing a permanent presence in selected countries.

The NFL now has nine international offices, with its Paris office opening in September 2026.

This local presence means the league no longer has to rely solely on game weeks to develop its footprint.

Local teams work throughout the year with fans, media organisations, sponsors, sports development programmes and institutional partners.

The opening of the NFL office in Paris therefore accompanies the arrival of the first Paris Game and confirms that France is now being treated as a long-term market.

NFL FRANCE

Why the NFL is now betting on France

France is one of the latest examples of this strategy.

Asked why the NFL had finally decided to stage a regular-season game in the country, Peter O’Reilly explained that the league had been monitoring the market for several years.

The league has analysed fan engagement on social media and increased its number of activations on the ground.

It also had a presence during the Paris Olympics as part of its efforts to develop flag football.

The New Orleans Saints securing Global Markets Program rights in France, talks with Stade de France and the development of new media partnerships then helped accelerate the project.

The Saints-Steelers game on October 25 should therefore not be viewed as an isolated operation. It forms part of a much broader strategy.

Could the NFL go beyond 10 international games?

It is now a natural question.

How far can the NFL take its international development?

Club owners have already approved the league staging up to 10 international regular-season games.

But Peter O’Reilly confirmed that the ambitions extend beyond that figure.

The NFL therefore has to balance entering new territories with strengthening markets where it has already established a presence.

London remains the league’s longest-standing major European market.

But Germany, Spain, Brazil, France and now Australia are also playing increasingly important roles in the strategy.

Mexico City, meanwhile, returns in 2026 in a market where the NFL already has a substantial fan base.

How does the NFL choose its next markets?

The league does not select destinations solely based on whether a stadium can host a game. Several different factors are analysed.

The NFL also takes into account the presence and interest of individual clubs in different countries.

The Global Markets Program plays an important role in that process. It allows clubs to acquire marketing rights in certain international territories and directly develop their brands in those markets.

The Saints in France are one example.

The league is therefore attempting to create a complete ecosystem involving international games, local presence, clubs, media partners, sponsors and the development of American football.

Japan among the markets being explored by the NFL

The conference also provided an intriguing clue about a potential next step in the league’s expansion.

Japan is among the markets currently being explored by the NFL.

Later in the conference, he confirmed that Japan was among "the countries or parts of the world that we’re looking at".

No decision has yet been announced, but the NFL is already assessing opportunities for 2027, 2028 and beyond.

The principle remains the same: the league does not simply want to stage one game in a new country.

It wants to identify markets where it can build a genuine presence over several years.

Australia presents a new logistical challenge for the NFL

Before taking the next steps in its expansion, the NFL will also need to learn from its first trip to Australia.

The game between the Rams and 49ers will represent the furthest the league has ever travelled for a regular-season game.

The challenges posed by travel, time zone differences, and team preparation will therefore be closely monitored.

Peter O’Reilly stressed the importance of that issue.

The NFL has spent months working with both clubs on flights, facilities, training arrangements and the overall logistics of their stay in Melbourne.

For the league, successfully delivering this first game could open up further opportunities across the Asia-Pacific region.

NFL

Flag football at the heart of global growth

The NFL International Games are only one element of the wider strategy.

Flag football is playing an increasingly important role in the global development of the sport.

Its inclusion in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games represents a major opportunity for the NFL.

The league is also preparing to launch a professional flag football league next summer in partnership with Tomorrow Sports.

O’Reilly said it will be designed as a global competition from the outset, bringing together leading male and female players from around the world.

The NFL is also continuing to develop the International Player Pathway, which gives international athletes an opportunity to reach the league.

According to O’Reilly, 80 foreign-born players took at least one NFL snap in 2025. At the same time, 50 NFL Academy graduates are on NCAA college rosters this fall.

The NFL wants to become a truly global sports property

The strategy is now becoming increasingly clear. The International Games bring attention to a market, and local offices then maintain the relationship with fans.

Clubs use the Global Markets Program to build their own communities, media partnerships increase the league’s visibility, and flag football and player development programmes help increase direct participation in the sport.

The NFL is therefore looking to move beyond being an American league followed overseas and become a truly global sports property.

The nine international games scheduled for the 2026 season represent a new record, but given the ambitions outlined by Peter O’Reilly, they appear to be just another step.

The question is no longer really whether the NFL will continue its international expansion. It is how far that expansion can go.

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