The NFL will play a regular season game in Berlin for the first time in 2025, with Dublin still among a group of cities in the running to host games next year.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell suggested last month that Dublin could host one of the professional American football league’s international games in 2025 as part of an effort to expand its global footprint.
Last year NFL ownership voted to approve an increase in the slate of international games to eight from four beginning with the 2025 season.
A commitment to playing two games at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and one game in Madrid have already been announced, while the Olympic Stadium in Berlin has now joined that list.
Goodell has previously stated that there is “no doubt” the NFL will come to Ireland in the future, and suggested last month it could be sooner rather than later ahead of the 2025 venue announcements.
“We will certainly be back in the UK and we’re also looking at the potential of another game in the UK area, in Ireland possibly. That’s a possibility,” he said.
“We’re looking at another game, in Ireland” 👀
EIGHT international NFL games potentially coming up next season 🏈 pic.twitter.com/Jo0ZzHUsEG
— NFL UK & Ireland (@NFLUKIRE) November 10, 2024
Only one NFL game has ever taken place in Ireland, a 1997 pre-season clash between the Steelers and the Chicago Bears at Croke Park that drew an estimated 25,000 fans.
The NFL has held 55 regular season matches outside the United States, with London, Munich, Frankfurt, Sao Paulo, Mexico City and Toronto all hosting games to date.
The rest of the international game hosts and all the teams that will be participating will be announced at a later date.
