The NFL is ever-expanding and has made a concerted effort over the last few decades to bring the game onto an international stage. This year, the league is set to play games in England, Germany, and Brazil, and it sounds like more countries and cities are being eyed for future regular season games.
Henry Hodgson, general manager of the NFL’s UK office, told the Irish Star that Dublin and Paris are two European cities. that the league is looking into for potential games.
“There’s a feasibility study, as we would call it, in a number of different European cities and Dublin is one of those,” Hodgson said. “Looking at the stadiums, taking local meetings … we’ll take away all of that information, digest it and determine what the next steps are.”
He added: “That’s something that’s happening in Dublin, it’s happening in Paris for example, and a number of other cities around the world as well.”
Hodgson noted that the NFL is planning to specifically evaluate Croke Park and Aviva Stadium for games in Ireland. Croke Park previously hosted the Bears and Steelers for a preseason game in 1997 and can seat 82,300 fans. Meanwhile, Aviva Stadium has hosted college football games in the past and has a capacity of 51,700.
This season, the NFL is slated to have five international games (three in London, one in Munich, and one in São Paulo) in 2024. On top of Ireland and France, the NFL has previously looked into having an international game in Spain as well.
