As part of its sustained global push this decade, the NFL could soon add a new destination for overseas regular-season games.
Dublin is considering an attempt to host an NFL game, Irish minister for tourism, culture, arts, Gaeltacht, sport, and media, Catherine Martin, told reporters Thursday.
“I would say it’s under active consideration,” Martin said via Ian Curran of The Irish Times. “I think we’ve seen the absolute benefit in real terms of the college football, so you can imagine what (an NFL game) would do.”
Ireland would presumably stage the game at Aviva Stadium, home of its national rugby union and soccer teams, or Croke Park, the traditional home of Gaelic games.
The country has hosted college football on and off for decades as part of efforts to bolster tourism and connect with the Irish diaspora in the United States.
This would mark the NFL’s first foray into the country. Over the past two years, the league has granted the Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets, and Pittsburgh Steelers marketing rights in Ireland. There have been 11 Irish-born NFL players, most (though not all) of whom played in the league’s early days.