The NFL will look to continue its expansion into Europe next season with potential games being played in Spain and France.
Brett Gosper, NFL head of UK and Europe, told the Associated Press that both countries are “very much on our radar” but the league will need to first gauge the potential interest of those markets, cities, and stadiums.
The report comes after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks played a game at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. The game was the first-ever NFL game played in Germany and is part of a four-year deal that the league hopes will help spur revenue growth.
As part of the agreement, FC Bayern Munich Stadium will host another game some time in the next four years.
Spain Likely To Be The Next Country To Host An NFL Game
Spain supposedly has the inside track on hosting an NFL game.
Both the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins have home marketing rights in the country, which could lead to a Bears-Dolphins game there in the near future.
According to a study on Statista, Spain has over 3.56 million NFL fans, which ranks seventh among countries outside of the United States. Mexico, Brazil, and Canada have the most NFL fans abroad, followed by South Korea, UK, and Germany.
The NFL has already played games in four of those six markets.
NFL Continues To Seek Revenue Opportunities In Europe
The NFL has been seeking potential revenue opportunities abroad since playing its first game in London, England in 2007.
Heading into the season, the league had already played 30 regular season games in London and four in Mexico City. The NFL also instituted the NFL International Series, which promises to bring at least four games per year to European soil each season.
After playing in Germany for the first time, the NFL appears to have its eyes on Spain and France given the amount of fan growth and international commercial opportunities in both countries.
The NFL has assigned international rights to interested teams for 10 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Ghana, Mexico and the U.K.
Currently, no teams have rights in France.
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