Like every year, the NFL organizes a press conference dedicated to the international world.
If the main announcement concerned the organization of a match in Madrid, it was an opportunity to ask Peter O'Reilly, NFL Vice President in charge of international affairs, a question about the possible organization of an NFL match in France.
A simple question: After Germany and Spain, are you considering an expansion to France, and if this is the case do you think it is obligatory to have a partnership with a large football club or a large sports organization like PSG to be able to organize this?
At first glance, this does not seem to be an immediate prospect.
“I suspected the content of your question. We give ourselves the possibility of relocating matches and we are attentive to new markets,” explained Peter O'Reilly.
“We are not there yet, our priority is today and now (on the Madrid match, editor's note), but we have a great audience in France, there are also beautiful stadiums. We now have a franchise, the New Orleans Saints, which holds the marketing rights for France. »
The answer is therefore polite.
In November 2022, the NFL assured that France was “on the radar” of the league. The situation doesn't really seem to have changed.
The NFL in France does not need PSG
Where the league representative was clearer was on the need or not to link the organization to the image of a big soccer club, as will be the case with Real Madrid.
“For your other question, is it necessary (to have a partnership with a local sports organization, editor’s note)? No. It is not an obligation to have a direct relationship with a football club on the market, although clearly in our case (NFL-Real Madrid Partnership, editor's note) it created this opportunity.
But in some cases, such as the Jaguars playing at Wembley, there has been the opportunity to play in a national stadium without this type of partnership. »
