Madrid to host NFL regular season game in 2025
The National Football League will play a regular season game in Madrid, Spain in 2025, as the NFL prioritizes global growth and expands the International Games to new cities and markets around the world.
The first-ever regular season game in Spain will be played at the iconic Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home to Real Madrid C.F.
“Playing a game in Madrid in 2025 highlights the continued expansion of the league’s global footprint and the accelerated ambitions to take our game to more fans around the world,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “We are proud to partner with Real Madrid C.F., a global brand, together with the City of Madrid and Comunidad de Madrid, to bring a spectacular regular season game to Spain at the world-class Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.”
Real Madrid C.F. President Florentino Pérez.
“The National Football League’s arrival at the Santiago Bernabéu is a major event in sport history. This strategic alliance between Real Madrid and an organization of the NFL’s prestige will boost our brands globally. It will be enthusiastically welcomed by millions of people on all continents, and it is an honor to embark on this journey together.”
Mayor of Madrid Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida:
“The union between Madrid and the National Football League is full of passion and excellence. We thank the NFL for having the trust in Madrid to host an unprecedented celebration in a legendary and renovated Santiago Bernabéu stadium, that will no doubt vibrate with every play of this historic event. The arrival of the NFL in Madrid will make us hosts of the most important league in the world, and the city will welcome our partners with open arms in 2025 and be ready to make history together.”
Alongside Real Madrid C.F., the City of Madrid and the Comunidad de Madrid, the game will be delivered with the support of the Spanish Government and High Council of Sports.
Fifty regular season NFL games have been played internationally through the league’s history, with London, Munich, Frankfurt, Mexico City and Toronto all hosting games to date. São Paulo, Brazil, will stage a game in 2024 at the Corinthians Arena — home to Brazilian soccer team the SC Corinthians — the first in South America.
Madrid is the first new market to be confirmed for the 2025 International Games and will be the fourth European city to host a regular season game (London, Frankfurt, Munich).
Following the expansion of the NFL schedule in 2021, up to four of the teams from the conference whose teams are eligible for a ninth regular-season home game were designated to play a neutral-site international game each year.
In 2023, NFL clubs voted to increase league-operated international game inventory from four (4) to up to eight (8) games a season beginning in 2025. Those eight (8) league-operated international games do not include club-operated games, such as the Jaguars hosting a game at Wembley Stadium in the U.K.
In addition to the game in São Paulo, Brazil, four other regular season games will be played as part of the 2024 NFL International Games. London will host three — two at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and one at Wembley Stadium — and the NFL will head to Germany for a third consecutive year, returning to the Allianz Arena, Home of FC Bayern Munich, for one game.
With the upcoming 2024 International Game in South America, the NFL will have played a game (preseason or regular season) in five of the seven continents around the world.
The Miami Dolphins and the Chicago Bears have international marketing rights in Spain, as part of the NFL’s Global Markets Program, an initiative that grants global marketing rights to clubs in markets outside of the U.S. to build brand awareness and fandom. 21 teams participate in the program and have rights across 14 markets.
