American football is on tour. In 2025 it will come to Madrid, fulfilling one of Florentino Perez's dreams: to bring the NFL to the new Bernabéu. However, Antoine Griezmann has revealed that he has spoken with representatives of the NFL and Atletico to bring the games to the Metropolitano.

It’s time for Spain

On October 2, 2005, the 103,467 fans who showed up at Estadio Azteca witnessed the first NFL regular-season game organized outside the United States. Two years later, American soccer arrived at Wembley Stadium in London. Since then, England has become a regular venue for NFL International Series’ games, accompanied in recent years by Mexico, Germany and Brazil. Now it is Spain's turn.

The agreement between the NFL, Real Madrid, the Madrid Community and City Council to bring American football to Santiago Bernabéu was made public in February, but the exact date of the game remains unknown. What is certain is that the event will attract many fans and allow the NFL to achieve its goal: to gain popularity and establish new contacts around the globe.

In December last year, the league's top brass approved the expansion of the International Series from 4 games a year to 8, with an eye on Europe and South America and in the future, Asia and Australia. In 2024 the venues for the NFL International Games were Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Wembley in London. Still to be played is the New York Giants - Carolina Panthers at Allianz Arena in Munich on November 10.

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NFL games at Metropolitano

The match between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Chicago Bears at Spurs’ stadium was witnessed by Antoine Griezmann. The Atletico Madrid striker, who has been a fan of American football for a few years, told Marca that he tried to talk with the people of the club and those of the NFL to bring the games to Riyadh Air Metropolitano.

The Frenchman opined that the parking and fan zones that could be created make the Rojiblanco temple a perfect setting for this event and promised to give another little push to bring the NFL to the most beautiful stadium, referring to the games that could be held from 2026 in Spain. The task does not seem easy, as Madrid will not let a game of such prestige be taken away from it, and Barcelona has also expressed its desire to bring the NFL to Camp Nou once works are finished.

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