Today's Edition
KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)
American Football or National Football League (NFL) is seeking to expand to the Middle East in recent months with the UAE identified as the most likely destination to host a regular season game. And three teams have shown interest in putting that pipeline dream into reality with commercial logic.
The NFL on Monday announced the expansion of its Global Markets Programme, adding four new NFL teams and two new markets – Greece and the UAE.
Just as the announcement was made, the San Francisco 49ers revealed that they have claimed stake and won the rights for marketing in the emirates along with two other clubs, the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Commanders. The latter is among the quartet of new teams to join the bandwagon in pursuit of commercial success; the other teams being the Baltimore Ravens, the Green Bay Packers and the Los Angeles Chargers.
The programme extension details come as the NFL seeks to go the way of initiatives in other prominent American sports – NBA basketball pre-season games in Abu Dhabi and a Baseball United league in Dubai. In total, 29 clubs will participate in the global programme across 21 international markets – up from 25 clubs across 19 markets in 2024 – as the NFL continues to prioritise global growth.
The 49ers are a good example of NFL teams cashing in on the momentum. Since acquiring rights in the UK and Mexico in the programme’s inaugural year, the organisation has grown its fanbase in each market by at least 50%, becoming a top-two NFL club in both countries. Over 34,000 people have attended 49ers events and created a community filled with interactions. The franchise is ranked as a top-five club in eight countries worldwide.
“Expanding into the UAE is a major milestone for the NFL. We're excited to team up with our world-class commercial partners, local community leaders, and the NFL in this next international expansion,” said Brent Schoeb, 49ers’ chief revenue and marketing officer.
After a period of research and learning, the 49ers plan to invest in Arabic digital and social platforms, in-person fan events, and community impact programmes teaching youth flag football, which makes its debut at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Since December, the NFL has expressed that the possibility of playing a regular-season game in Abu Dhabi is being considered as part of attempts to stage matches outside America. The NFL has committed to playing seven games this season in destinations such as Mexico, the UK and Spain, while two more games will be added in 2026.
"We don't know the timing … but what I will say is that's a market where there's strong interest in our game, strong interest in growing our game on a year-round basis. I think that's why you see three clubs raising their hands with interest there,” said Peter O'Reilly, the league’s executive vice president, to the NFL website.
“It's a market we'll continue to explore. We've done some exploratory trips there to understand the viability of the potential for a regular-season game in the market. We have more work to do there in terms of what that looks like over this next stretch. But obviously an important market and one that has hosted significant events in other sports in recent years, whether that's the NBA or global soccer. There are learnings there, but we really do it as we try to do all these markets in the right, thoughtful, cadence way."
