The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Jacksonville Jaguars have been named as the two NFL teams to be granted access to the island of Ireland market for marketing, fan engagement, and commercial activities as part of the League’s Global Markets Programme.
The Kansas City Chiefs and the New England Patriots are among five teams with the same rights in Germany and both will play games there in 2023.
Jacksonville has been regular players in London in recent years and the addition of Ireland to the list of countries where the rights apply holds out the hope that we may yet see a regular game in the NFL season take place here.
Elsewhere this morning we have covered the complete sellout of this year’s Aer Lingus College Football Classic at the Aviva Stadium, a game which has established Dublin as the European home of College Football.
Tomorrow, representatives of the Pittsburgh Steelers will host an event at Croke Park to lay out their plans for expanded operations and marketing here. We will be there and will report back on what that will look like.
The Steelers and the Chicago Bears played a pre-season game at Croke Park in 1997.
“We are excited to have been granted the rights to engage more deeply with our fans in Ireland,” Steelers President Art Rooney II said. “My family has deep roots throughout Ireland and being able to connect with our fans across the Island is something special to our organization. My father did so much in Ireland during his lifetime, first as one of the founders of the Ireland Funds, then as Ambassador. We look forward to growing our fan base and the love of American football in the years to come.”
The prospect of an expanded presence is an exciting development for fans of the sport, and also for Ireland’s continued growing reputation as a venue for hosting the biggest sporting events in the world.
