GRAMGood news for soccer fans across Europe: As the National Football League (NFL) announced on Tuesday, the world’s best soccer league plans to host one of its seasonal games in Germany for years to come. According to information from the FAZ, the date in fall 2022 is off the table, internally the NFL is currently planning for September or October 2023. Brett Gosper, European director of the NFL, had already spoken extensively about the project a few weeks ago. in an interview with the FAZ.

The NFL now named Frankfurt, Munich, and Düsseldorf as possible cities for the so-called “regular season game” – that is, a regular season game and not a preparatory game. In further discussions, it will be determined before the end of the year which of the three German cities will be awarded the contract for the big event.

Term of up to five years

The three cities enter the race with their respective football stadiums, Frankfurt with Deutsche Bank Park and a total capacity of 51,500, Düsseldorf with the Merkur Spiel-Arena, which has a capacity for 54,600, and Munich with the Allianz Arena . The FC Bayern Munich headquarters can accommodate 75,000 spectators. According to information from the FAZ, the Munich Olympic Stadium was also initially interested, but then refrained from applying.

The NFL, which has been holding regular season games in Great Britain since 2007 and has also been invited in Mexico, hopes that a game in Germany will create a stronger bond with the German soccer fan base and thus a long-term increase in audience ratings. and sales figures in the fan trade in this country. Therefore, cooperation with a German city as the host of one of the 17 games that an NFL team only has per season is designed for several years. A term of four to five years is reportedly under discussion.

“Not only do we want to find a stadium that can handle the logistics of an NFL game, but we also want to work with a host consortium that includes local and regional authorities, stadium owners, local stakeholders and potential advertising partners,” said the NFL now and confirmed the desire for a “long-term partnership.”

Last weekend the New York Jets and the Atlanta Falcons met at the stadium of the English football club Tottenham Hotspur, next weekend the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Miami Dolphins will meet at the same place in London (Sunday, 3 : 30 pm ProSieben). The only active German player in the NFL is currently Stuttgart’s Jakob Johnson for the New England Patriots. David Bada (Washington Football Team) and Aaron Donkor (Seattle Seahawks) also train in the North American professional league.