The NFL announced on Monday that the New York Jets have expanded into Ireland as part of the league’s Global Markets Program, while four new teams have entered international territories.
The Global Markets Program awards NFL teams with marketing rights in certain countries outside of the United States, permitting them the ability to launch fan events and elevate their brand overseas.
Ireland joined the GMP initiative last year when it was confirmed the Pittsburgh Steelers had received the rights to expand on the Island of Ireland.
Year three of the initiative will see 25 teams own marketing rights across 19 international territories, with the Jets already active in the United Kingdom alongside the Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, and San Francisco 49ers.
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Pittsburgh Steelers Director of Business Development and Strategy Dan Rooney says bringing NFL to Ireland is a ‘huge deal’ and was an obvious choice for a watch party.
“The momentum of the Global Markets Program underscores the strong commitment of NFL clubs to growing the game and their passionate fan bases around the world. Clubs are seeing the value and opportunity in new markets and aligning with the league to accelerate that growth together,” said Peter O’Reilly, executive vice president, club business, major events & international at the NFL.
“We can’t wait to see the ongoing impact of the program on fandom and global growth in this season and in years ahead, both in new and existing markets and via new clubs joining and active clubs deepening their strategic commitments.”
The league confirmed that rights have also been awarded to the Cleveland Browns in Nigeria, the New York Giants in Germany, the Indianapolis Colts in Austria and Germany and the Detroit Lions in Austria, Canada, Germany and Switzerland.
Among the five new international markets will be Argentina (Dolphins), Colombia (Dolphins), Japan (Los Angeles Rams), Nigeria (Browns) and South Korea (Rams).
The New England Patriots will meanwhile be increasing their expansion into Brazil, which will play stage to a regular season game for the first time in history during the 2024 season when the Philadelphia Eagles play at Sao Paulo’s Arena Corinthians in the opening week of the campaign.
Who is playing in London in 2024?
The Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings will each host regular season games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London as part of the 2024 International Series.
The Jacksonville Jaguars will also return to London for another year, continuing their multi-year commitment to playing in the UK that started in 2013. This will be the 10th time they’ve played at Wembley and their 12th visit to the capital city overall.
Germany will stage a regular season fixture for the third-straight season in 2024, with the Carolina Panthers to host a match at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
Munich and Frankfurt currently hold games in alternate seasons, with Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers victorious over the Seattle Seahawks the last time Munich hosted a match, for the first time, in 2022.
