America’s professional league for American football, the NFL, announced back in May that it would be shifting five games in the regular season to Europe for its International Series of 2023. These will be taking place in October and November, with three games in London and two in Germany.
The German games will mark the NFL’s debut in the city of Frankfurt. One game last season, at Munich’s Allianz Arena, was the league’s first anywhere in Germany.
The schedule runs as follows:
- Atlanta Falcons vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (Wembley Stadium, London, Oct. 1)
- Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Buffalo Bills (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Oct. 8)
- Baltimore Ravens vs. Tennessee Titans (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Oct. 15)
- Miami Dolphins vs. Kansas City Chiefs (Frankfurt Stadium, Frankfurt, Nov. 5)
- Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots (Frankfurt Stadium, Nov. 12)
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell believes it possible to found an American football team somewhere in Europe. “I don’t rule out anything,” he has told Front Office Sports. “We really see football as a global sport.” It’s a matter less of whether than of how.
Popularity is not a problem. The Dolphins-Chiefs game apparently sold out within minutes, and Goodell expects to “do more games in the future.” In fact, “we’re looking at games around the world.” The NFL has already had games played in Mexico City, and the Los Angeles Rams could be playing sometime soon in Australia.
The problem is logistics. Where to situate the international hub for regular-season play? “The debate we’ve always tried to work on [is] can you do it competitively?” said Goodell. “And do it in a way that’s going to be fair, not just to that team but every other team?”
