NFL set to play first ever regular-season game in new European country next year

The NFL has announced it is heading to Ireland for a archetypal ever regular-season crippled successful the European state adjacent season.

After antecedently staging pre-season fixtures there, the league volition present play a historical archetypal competitory crippled successful Dublin, the superior of Ireland, successful the 2025 campaign.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will beryllium the designated location squad erstwhile that fixture takes spot astatine Croke Park, the largest sporting arena successful the country.

Steelers president Art Rooney II and his household person a affluent past with Ireland as Dan M. Rooney, Art's father, served arsenic its US ambassador from 2009-12. 

He was besides a co-founder of the Ireland Funds charity, portion the Rooney household person relatives from Newry successful Northern Ireland.

Pittsburgh is besides 1 of lone 2 NFL teams to person played a preseason crippled successful Ireland, coming against the Chicago Bears in 1997 arsenic portion of the American Bowl series. 

'We are delighted to officially bring a regular play NFL crippled to Ireland arsenic portion of our 2025 International Games slate,' said Executive Vice President International, League Events and Club Business astatine the NFL Peter O'Reilly. 

'Both the NFL and the Steelers franchise person heavy roots and past successful Ireland, and we’re looking guardant to making our regular-season debut successful Dublin, bringing our crippled to a ample and passionate Irish instrumentality basal and underlining the NFL’s committedness to planetary growth.'

Rooney besides said: 'We are precise excited to beryllium the designated squad successful the archetypal regular play crippled to beryllium played successful Ireland this upcoming season. 

'The accidental for the Pittsburgh Steelers to play successful Ireland is genuinely special, not lone due to the fact that of the Rooney household past there, but besides to play successful beforehand of the increasing fig of Steelers fans successful Ireland. 

'We are thrilled to beryllium portion of this historical lawsuit to correspond Pittsburgh successful a crippled that brings the NFL to the large sports fans successful Ireland.'

The NFL's International Series has antecedently included regular-season games successful England, Mexico and Germany, portion Brazil hosted its archetypal fixture astatine the commencement of the 2024 campaign.

The league has besides precocious announced plans to caput to Madrid, Spain successful 2025 and Melbourne, Australia successful 2026.

While the state has ne'er had a regular-season NFL fixture, 10 assemblage shot games person antecedently taken spot successful Ireland, mostly involving the Notre Dame Fighting Irish astatine Avia Stadium successful Dublin.

Ireland’s archetypal assemblage shot crippled was held successful November of 1988, erstwhile Boston College defeated Army, 38-24 astatine Lansdowne Road, a rugby stadium successful Dublin.

The afloat details for the NFL Dublin crippled volition beryllium announced erstwhile the 2025 docket is revealed this spring.