The newly modernised Santiago Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is set to a US National Football League (NFL) season game in 2025.
The announcement was made at a ceremony in Las Vegas, two days before the Superbowl, by Peter O’Reilly, executive vice president of the NFL and Emilio Butragueño, Real Madrid´s Director of Institutional Relations.
This will be the first time that Spain will host an official NFL match.
“Playing a game in Madrid in 2025 demonstrates the La Liga’s continued expansion of its global footprint and ambition to bring our game to more fans around the world. We are proud to partner up with Real Madrid, a global brand, along with the City of Madrid and the Madrid Regional Government, to bring a spectacular regular season game to Spain in a world-class Santiago Bernabéu setting,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Emilio Butragueño said: ” it is a great honour for Real Madrid to host this international event with the NFL over the next few years in our stadium. For us, you are a model of management and a great travelling companion with whom to share our dreams.”
The NFL has recently been expanding its international footprint. Spain will be the fifth different country to participate in the NFL’s International Games, following the United Kingdom, Mexico, Germany and Brazil, and the third European nation to do so.
“In December, NFL owners voted to expand the number of NFL games played internationally every year, moving from four league-operated games to now up to eight regular-season games starting in 2025,” O’Reilly said.
“We could not be more excited to bring the best of the NFL, the best of our teams, our star players to our more than 13 million passionate fans in Spain and to partner with one of the greatest global soccer clubs in Real Madrid and a truly world-class and innovative stadium.”