The Miami Dolphins will play a game next season at Real Madrid’s renovated Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
The NFL already play regular games in London and Germany, and have expanded into Mexico and Brazil but the Dolphins’ match against an as yet unnamed team will be the first-ever regular-season game in Spain.
🏈 Welcome to Madrid, @MiamiDolphins! pic.twitter.com/rDll7bHHEg
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) January 17, 2025
“The exciting first-ever game in Spain underscores the NFL’s continued commitment to expand its global footprint and reach new audiences around the world,” NFL’s senior vice-president Brett Gosper told a press conference in Madrid accompanied by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and city mayor Jose Almeida.
“Bringing a historic franchise like the Dolphins to such a extraordinary and traditional ground like the Santiago Bernabeu stadium shows the global appeal of the NFL.”
A total of 55 regular-season NFL games have been played internationally so far, with Madrid becoming the fourth European city to host one after London, Munich and Frankfurt. Berlin will also be hosting a game for the first time in 2025.
The NFL is poised to ramp up its international presence further in 2025 after clubs voted to approve an increase in international games from four contests to up to eight.
