Regular season NFL game announced for Ireland

By Jimmy English

The NFL is officially coming back to Ireland! After much speculation and online rumours in the past weeks and months it was finally confirmed today that the Pittsburgh Steelers will play a regular season game here in Ireland. The announcement came at a special international news briefing ahead of Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans, the focus of which was the league’s international expansion strategy. The date and who they will be facing are still to be confirmed, but the common consensus seems to be a September 28th clash against the Green Bay Packers, in Dublin’s Croke Park stadium.

“We are delighted to officially bring a regular season NFL game to Ireland as part of our 2025 International Games slate,” said Executive Vice President International, League Events and Club Business at the NFL Peter O’Reilly. “Both the NFL and the Steelers franchise have deep roots and history in Ireland, and we’re looking forward to making our regular-season debut in Dublin, bringing our game to a large and passionate Irish fan base and underlining the NFL’s commitment to global growth.”

Anticipation of the game being announced reached fever pitch during the week, as NFL fans were kept on tenterhooks with snippets of info about a potential game teasing the big reveal. And the wait was definitely worth it. This is a truly historic moment for the NFL in Ireland, and one we’ve been waiting a long time for. American football has gained massive popularity here in recent times, fuelled in large part by the growing number of native athletes taking their skills across the Atlantic. Jude McAtamney, Charlie Smyth and Andy Quinn are just some of the talented kickers playing for high profile outfits among the college football and professional ranks. Their high profile success has also opened up the NFL to a whole new cohort of fans in the ranks of GAA supporters and general sports fans.

This will be the first time a regular season NFL game has ever been played on Irish soil. The Steelers last touched down in Ireland back in 1997, when they hosted the Chicago Bears in Croke Park as part of an exhibition game. Pittsburgh ran out as winners in that encounter, and will be hoping for a similar result when they return for this competitive fixture.

The Pittsburgh Steelers along with other franchises with marketing rights to Ireland have steadily being building fanbases on the Island over the past few years, through a variety of activations including watch parties and flag football camps.

“We are very excited to be the designated team in the first regular season game to be played in Ireland this upcoming season,” said Steelers’ President Art Rooney II. “The opportunity for the Pittsburgh Steelers to play in Ireland is truly special, not only because of the Rooney family history there, but also to play in front of the growing number of Steelers fans in Ireland. We are thrilled to be part of this historic event to represent Pittsburgh in a game that brings the NFL to the great sports fans in Ireland.”

For Irish NFL fans, this declaration is akin to a dream come true, and is the culmination of years of hard work and dedication by those who drive the growth of American football in Ireland.

Ireland is already the home of college football in Europe, hosting large scale fixtures on a yearly basis, a factor which would most certainly have swayed the decision to stage an NFL game here.

Details on Ireland’s first ever NFL game are still emerging, with more information expected in the coming days so stay tuned to Gaelic Gridiron for all the latest news and updates.

Source: Gaelic Gridiron