It’s no secret the NFL is looking to gain a stronger foothold in Europe. While the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed things down somewhat, the International Series has two games planned in London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this season.
The NFL has been in London since 2007 and while the NFL isn’t planning to leave London anytime soon, they are looking at other European cities for potential games. One location is reportedly the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid, home of Real Madrid.
According to Spanish outlet AS, the NFL is looking to have a game somewhere in Spain and the city of Madrid is offering up the Bernabéu to have that game. The 81,000 seat stadium is currently undergoing a half billion Euro renovation, which will include a retractable roof, that is set to be completed by the 2022-23 La Liga season.
It’s noted that 2023 might be a bit too soon to have an NFL game at the Bernabéu, but there’s hope to have a game there in either 2024 or 2025. Because the initial renovation plan didn’t have American football in mind, it’s unknown if the stadium will be suitable to have a game until officials can check out the finished stadium.
Spain isn’t the only European country that is looking to host a future NFL game. The NFL is reportedly going to have a game somewhere in Germany starting in either 2022 or 2023.
With the NFL expanding their international footprint and expanding their schedule to 17 regular season games, it may get to the point where every NFL team has one international game per year and will go to various cities throughout the world. You would have 16 games, that means you would need up to 16 locations. That kind of idea was laughed about five years ago, but now that we’re on our way, that might be a reality sooner rather than later.
[AS/Photo: Real Madrid]
