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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The NFL is expanding its international footprint to Australia.
The league announced Wednesday that it will be playing a game in 2026 in Melbourne at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, a venue that holds about 100,000 spectators. The Los Angeles Rams will be the home team for that game, part of a multi-year commitment to play in Melbourne.
“This is a big statement,” league executive Peter O’Reilly said. “Probably a few years ago, you may not have thought this was a reality. I’d say the commissioner, the 32 owners, there’s a commitment to become a true global sport property. That means expanding our footprint, that means going to different parts of the world and exposing more fans around the world, in this case fans in Australia and Melbourne, to our great sport.”
O’Reilly said the game will likely be played in Week 1 to give the teams extra time to acclimate to the time zone and promote the sport before the game. It would likely be scheduled for prime time on the East Coast of the United States, which could mean a start time of about noon in Melbourne.
The NFL opened an academy in Australia last year to help develop promising teenagers in the Asia-Pacific region into college and pro prospects. The Super Bowl being played Sunday in New Orleans features Australia’s most successful NFL player: Philadelphia Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata.
The Rams have had marketing rights in Australia since the NFL started its international marketing program in 2022.
“We could not be more excited,” team President Kevin Demoff said. “As soon as this opportunity came about, we were the first to raise our hands and say we want to play in that first game in Australia.”
The NFL hopes committing to Australia will help boost the chances that flag football will be part of the 2032 Olympics set to be held there in Brisbane. Flag football will make its Olympic debut in Los Angeles in 2028 and a decision on whether it will be part of the 2032 Olympics will be made in the next few years.
Australia will be the seventh country outside the United States to host an NFL game. The league has played games in England annually since 2007 and has also played games in Mexico, Germany, Brazil and Canada. The Miami Dolphins will be the hosts for the first game in Spain in 2025 at Real Madrid ’s venue.
As of the 2025 season, the NFL can schedule up to eight league-operated regular-season games internationally.
London will host three games next season — two at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and one at Wembley Stadium. The Browns and the New York Jets are the home teams at Tottenham; and the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley.
The Colts are the home team for a game in Berlin at Olympic Stadium, and the other game will be in Madrid.
O’Reilly also said the league is committed to return to Mexico after renovations to Azteca Stadium for the 2026 World Cup are finished.
This won’t be the first time a major U.S.-based sports league went to Australia with Major League Baseball playing a season-opening series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks in Sydney in 2014.
There have also been several major college football games played in Australia over the years, with the most recent being games between Stanford and Rice in 2017 and California and Hawaii in 2016.
___AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
