The National Football League (NFL) will play its first-ever regular-season football game in Australia in 2026, the league announced Wednesday.
The game will be played at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The stadium is the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and has a capacity of 100,024 (95,000 seats plus 5,000 standing room).
The NFL also revealed that the designated host team for the game in Melbourne, Australia, will be the Los Angeles Rams.
“Expanding to Melbourne, Australia, a beautiful city with a rich sports history, underlines our ambitions to become a global sport and accelerate international growth,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “Together with the Victorian State Government, Visit Victoria and the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and with the Los Angeles Rams in 2026, we look forward to making history in what is an important market for the NFL and a significant next step in expanding our international footprint.”
The Rams’ opponent in 2026, along with game date and kickoff time, will be announced at a later date.
“We’re thrilled the NFL will be touching down in the sporting capital of Australia. Victoria is now the first-ever state in Australia to host a regular season NFL game,” said Premier of Victoria Jacinta Allan. “It’s a win for jobs, a win for businesses and a win for fans who will get to see American football played at the iconic MCG.”
“NFL fans will love Melbourne’s culture, food, sport and entertainment. From hidden laneways to blockbuster events, there’s always something new on show,” said Victoria Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the NFL to be played on the hallowed turf of the MCG.”
Beginning with the 2025 season, the NFL can schedule up to eight regular-season football games internationally.
“When we first identified Australia as one of our global markets, it was not only because of our passionate fans who reside there, but also because of the important role Los Angeles plays in serving as a gateway to Australia and many countries across the Pacific,” said Los Angeles Rams Owner/Chairman E. Stanley Kroenke. “Today is an exciting day for Rams fans across the world, especially in Australia, where our players and organization have received an enthusiastic reception over the past few years when we have been in market. This is the next important step for both the Rams and the broader Kroenke Sports & Entertainment family to continue to expand our reach globally, and we are thrilled to work with Commissioner Goodell and the league office to make history and bring the first NFL regular season game to Australia.”
The Miami Dolphins will host the NFL’s first regular-season game in Madrid, Spain, during the 2025 season, while the Indianapolis Colts will host the first-ever regular-season game in Berlin, Germany, in 2025.
Other teams with international games announced for 2025 include the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns, who will each host opponents at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. The Jacksonville Jaguars will also host their usual game at Wembley Stadium in London.
No mention of when this game will be played as the alignment of audience windows is limited due to the time zone differences.
A primetime US TV window would be lunch time the following day in Melb/SYD/Brisbane. Possible this could be a Thursday night game in US as Fridays AUS host NRL/AFL games from March thru September.
Or does the NFL try to steal a US CFB Saturday night primetime window?
A less likely but an option where the game is played the first US Monday night in November and have the game back to back with the Melbourne Cup since many will be celebrating on that Tuesday in Melbourne.
To further add, because the NRL/AFL playoffs take up the month of September its likely this game would have to be played in October or November. December would be summer weather in Melbourne which can command 90 degree + days.
Sydney and Tokyo should be next.
Watch for Cheeseheads & Browns at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium London this year.
Hoping it is vs Lions
They must have common finishes both Lions & Rams they do not play till 2027.
Nothing like an 8,000 mile mid-season roadtrip across five time zones. Add 3,00 and three additional timezones if the opponent is from the East Coast. I assume the game will be mid-season since they are going to have to give the teams a bye afterwards. Major competitive disadvantage for the teams, but the owners don’t care. Ever notice how the EPL rarely outsources games overseas? NFL would play on the moon if they could.
NFL has people in other countries that want to watch. PL doesn’t. Something about American exceptionalism. It’s why the entire world watches American TV shows and movies and listens to American music and watches American sports.
Agreed with the sentiment but the EPL does do the traveling road show every off season with the friendlies matches. And not for nothing, but the EPL clubs already have European cup matches throughout the season, so their gaining international market exposure in the season schedules. And unlike the NFL that has little if any competition in its sport, EPL has local competition in every continent against the local Pro leagues.
Logistics wise the NFL does a pretty good job putting these tentpole events. I’ll be fascinated by how they work around some of the unique limitations a site like this presents
Since they want to play an odd number of games, let’s put every team in an international neutral site game every season.
Panthers @ Jaguars (London)
Commanders @ Dolphins (Madrid)
Falcons @ Colts (Berlin)
Rams @ Ravens (Melbourne)
Eagles @ Bills (Dublin)
Cowboys @ Jets (Tokyo)
Giants @ Patriots (London)
Buccaneers @ Texans (Mexico City)
Saints @ Titans (Sydney)
Lions @ Chiefs (Barcelona)
Vikings @ Chargers (Vancouver)
Packers @ Broncos (London)
Bears @ Raiders (Munich)
Seahawks @ Steelers (London)
Cardinals @ Bengals (Sao Paulo)
49ers @ Browns (Cardiff)
Such a shame that so many NFL regular season games (and future playoff games?) are being played away from the cities where American fans by season tickets.
This unfortunately was a certainty with the expanded season schedule. And since the preseason games were sacrificed not many season ticket holders are complaining given the face prices were charged the same.
It is unfortunate the August schedule was a sacrificed for families as preseason games were great to take the family to games and cheaply.
I think this is a terrible idea. That said, I know the Colts are playing in Germany, the Dolphins in Spain, the Jaguars in London this year, in games that I know of. But my question is why should a team have to go to another country just to play a game that counts in the standings? Plus the designated home team loses their home surroundings that they are familiar with. I will use the Colts and Jaguars as an example, since they both are playing overseas, why not play each other twice? Play in London as a Jaguars home game and in Germany as a Colts home game, that way the neutral site won’t be as bad for either team. But to me the only time a game should be moved is weather.
ur right jags should only play international
Interdivisional & Interconference are excellent for international games.
Divisional games belong to America.
To me it would make the most sense to play this game the opening weekend. Or as Monday night football later in the season with both teams getting a bye the next week.
In order for the local and American start time to be acceptable, it would have to be played at 11:30 PM ET on Saturday night, going up against after dark college football on multiple networks.
As noted before, September is dedicated to the AFL and NRL playoffs in Melbourne and Australia in general. The venues would not be available or not have ideal field conditions if say played on a Monday night US time.
I was thinking the opposite have them open the season down under and put the game on a Wednesday allowing ample time to (after final preseason game) and from gets them back stateside Friday or Saturday for the next week of games
Sorry Z-Man I am not a Fan of Your proposal.
Please forgive me.
I would like to see Chiefs Be Jaguars opponents at London Wembly Stadium.