The Washington Commanders and the Miami Dolphins will make history on November 16th at the iconic Santiago Bernabéu stadium, when they play the first NFL game in Madrid and in Spain.
This Wednesday the main American football league will release the schedule of games for the 2025 season, which starts in September, but has already announced the international matches.
Why will the NFL play in Spain?
Since Roger Goodell took over as NFL commissioner in 2006, he implemented an aggressive expansion campaign towards international markets.
First it consolidated in the United Kingdom, then it took advantage of the popularity of American football in Mexico, and in recent years it added Germany and Brazil. Reaching Spain seemed like a logical step, as they even had the Barcelona Dragons in NFL Europe, and last year they reached an agreement with the Government of the Community of Madrid.
“We are delighted to welcome the Washington Commanders to Spain for our first regular season NFL game in Madrid, an incredible global city,” said Brett Gosper, NFL Director of Europe and Asia-Pacific.
The game will allow Madrid and Spanish fans to see the Commanders, one of the candidates to win the National Conference and who have quarterback Jayden Daniels, the 2024 offensive rookie, against the always promising Dolphins and receiver Tyreek Hill.
What are the other international matches?
The first game of the international series will be on Friday, September 5th in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where the Los Angeles Chargers will be the home team. The opponent will be announced this Wednesday, but various journalistic reports suggest that the opponent in Week 1 will be Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs.
The NFL will land in Europe on Sunday, September 28 for the game between the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Minnesota Vikings at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland, the first in the country’s history. Next, the Vikings will travel to London to face the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, October 5 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
A week later, the New York Jets will face the Denver Broncos on Sunday, October 12, also at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, while the third and final game in London will see the Jacksonville Jaguars take on the Los Angeles Rams at Wembley on Sunday, October 19.
The NFL will later move for the first time to Berlin, where the Olympic Stadium will host the game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, November 9, before the final game in Madrid.