The NFL announced that it will play for the first time in Australia, starting in the 2026 season and the team that will host the game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, a stadium with a capacity of around 100,000 fans, will be the Los Angeles Rams, as part of a multi-year agreement to play across the Pacific
“It’s a big announcement,” said league executive Peter O’Reilly. “Probably a few years ago you wouldn’t have thought this was a reality. I would say the commissioner, the 32 owners, are committed to becoming a truly global sports property. That means expanding our presence and going to different parts of the world and showing more fans our great sport.” O’Reilly said the game will likely be played in Week 1 so that the participating teams have extra time to acclimatize to the time zone and promote football in a nation where passion for rugby dominates. The only downside is that the game would be played in prime time on the East Coast of the United States, so kickoff could be around noon in Melbourne.
Last year, the NFL opened a talent development academy in Australia to help promising young people from the Asia-Pacific region become college and professional prospects. Meanwhile, the most successful Australian player today, Philadelphia Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata, will take part in Sunday’s Super Bowl.
Related:
- Super Bowl 2025: date, time, halftime show and everything you need to know
- Where to watch the 2025 Super Bowl? TV channel and streaming where you can watch the game
- Super Bowl 2025 Halftime Show: Everything you need to know about Kendrick Lamar’s show
- Super Bowl Winners List: All the teams that have won the Super Bowl by year
- Gatorade Color Super Bowl: Odds, history and more about the traditional Gatorade bath
The Rams have held marketing rights in Australia since the NFL launched its international marketing program in 2022.
“We couldn’t be more excited,” said team president Kevin Demoff. “As soon as this opportunity came up, we were the first to raise our hand and say we wanted to play that first game in Australia.”
The NFL hopes that the Australian market will increase the chances of flag football being part of the Olympic Games in 2032, which will be held in Brisbane. Flag football will make its Olympic debut in Los Angeles in 2028 and will then need to be re-evaluated for its worldwide popularity to repeat in the next Olympic cycle
With Australia, the NFL has opened up the markets of Mexico, Germany, Brazil and Canada, where regular season games have already been played, while the Miami Dolphins will host the first game in Spain next season at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, home of Real Madrid.
The NFL’s 2025 international schedule
From the 2025 season onwards, the NFL can schedule up to eight regular season games internationally: London will host its traditional three games, two at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and one at Wembley Stadium. The BrownsJets are the home teams at Tottenham, and the Jaguars at Wembley.
The Colts will be the first team to host an official NFL game at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, and the Dolphins will open the showcase in Madrid.
O’Reilly also said that the league is committed to returning to Mexico after renovations to the Estadio Azteca for the 2026 World Cup are completed, so it is currently unknown if it will be available for the 2025 season.
Read the full article here
