By Fernando Kallas
MADRID (Reuters) – The Miami Dolphins will play one of their nine home games of the 2025 season in Spain at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium, the National Football League (NFL) and the Spanish soccer giants announced on Friday.
The NFL continues to push into new markets after establishing an international toehold in Europe with regular games in London and Germany and expanding into Mexico and Brazil and they will now play a first-ever regular-season game in Spain at the iconic soccer stadium.
The Dolphins, who had already informed season ticket holders in October that they would be playing one of their home games outside of the United States, are one of two teams, along with the Chicago Bears, that have exclusive marketing rights in Spain.
“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 on Friday.
“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.
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas; Editing by Toby Davis)
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