NFL
NFL to announce Madrid’s Estadio Santiago Bernabéu as host venue
Super Bowl Week may be used as the moment to announce the NFL’s decision to bring the sport to Madrid, the capital of Spain.
One of American Football’s open secrets will be confirmed this week: the NFL will play a regular season game at the Santiago Bernabéu in 2025. AS understands that the agreement is complete and is expected to be made official in the next few days at an event in Las Vegas, where the Super Bowl between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs will be played this Sunday. Although the exact date of the announcement is not entirely clear, sources close to the negotiations indicate that Friday is the most likely moment.
After a long period of rumours and negotiations, the arrival of the American Football league at the home of Real Madrid will finally materialise, fulfilling another of the dreams that Los Blancos had when beginning the renovation of their iconic stadium. AS had already reported that the Santiago Bernabéu had beaten the Estadio Metropolitano, as the NFL debated between the two stadiums, both of which were visited by representatives of the sport months ago. And Roger Goodell, commissioner of the NFL, also exclusively told AS that “the chances of playing a game in Spain are high”.
Bernabéu building works to be finished in time
The NFL had to decide again between two options, in this case whether to host a regular season game in 2024 in Brazil or Madrid. The choice finally went to São Paulo, whose Arena Corinthians will become an international venue next season, along with the Allianz Arena (Munich), Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Wembley (both in London). It also came to light this Monday that the Philadelphia Eagles will be one of the two teams visiting Brazil in the first week of the regular season.
The Bernabéu, which in 2025 will have completely finished all the renovation work that is still being carried out, will be able to take advantage of this decision. Given its location in the heart of the Spanish capital, the NFL plans to organise different types of events and activities in emblematic places of the city during the entire week of the game, as it has been doing for the rest of its international games.
It also helped Madrid that, last December, the owners of the 32 NFL franchises approved the move to nine overseas games in 2025 (eight plus one for the Jaguars, who are scheduled to play one in London), a considerable increase compared to the five that will be held next year.
Which NFL teams will play in Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu?
As for the teams that will participate in the Bernabéu game, logic dictates that it should be the Miami Dolphins or the Chicago Bears, the two franchises that chose Spain to exploit their marketing rights. Despite the fact that the Bears have since flirted more with this country (this week they are hosting their training camps in Spain), the Dolphins are in pole position as they have an extra home game in 2025, while Chicago will have to wait until 2026.
The reason behind such a quirk in the calendar is the fact that every team now plays 17 games, rather than the 16 of the past, with the long-term goal being for each team’s split to be eight at home, eight away and one on the road. But for now, there are only a few teams that have an extra home game, which they can take advantage of to play away from their usual home ground. The long-awaited arrival of the NFL in Spain, it seems, is more imminent than ever.