Nov. 8, 1926: The AFL’s New York Yankees and Los Angeles Wildcats faced off at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Stadium in the first pro football game played outside of the United States. (Photo: NFL)
On October 2, 2005, the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers faced off at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
Dubbed “NFL Fútbol Americano,” it was the first regular season game held outside the United States. With 103,467 fans in attendance, the game also featured the largest crowd to watch a regular-season game in NFL history.
It was not the first international foray for NFL teams. From 1950-83, NFL and AFL teams played 13 preseason games on foreign soil. The American Bowl, which was played from 1986 to 2005 featured at least one preseason game played in another country each year. The American Bowl included 40 preseason games at sites in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Spain, Germany, Canada, Japan, Mexico and Australia.
But the NFL Fútbol Americano game was a turning point for the NFL. The game was a precursor for the NFL International Series — a dedicated effort to play a consistent schedule of regular season games abroad.
The NFL International Series
The NFL launched the International Series on October 28, 2007, when the New York Giants faced off against the Miami Dolphins at London’s Wembley Stadium. The Giants won 13-10 en route to the franchise’s third Super Bowl title. From 2007-12, Wembley Stadium hosted one regular-season NFL game each season.
In 2012, the Jacksonville Jaguars agreed to play one home game at Wembley Stadium each year from 2013-16. The Jaguars would later extend the agreement through 2020. The NFL held two International Series games at Wembley Stadium in 2013 and three in 2014 and 2015.
The International Series expanded in 2016 with the league’s return to Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca. That season also included the first of three games at London’s Twickenham Stadium.
In 2019, the Oakland Raiders and Chicago Bears played the first game at London’s brand-new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which will host two games each season for 10 years as part of an agreement with the NFL. In total, the International Series featured four games in 2016, five games in 2017, three games in 2018, and five games in 2019.
The International Series was suspended in 2020 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic but resumed in 2021 with two games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Through the 2022 season, the NFL has played 35 regular season games in London and four in Mexico City.
Scheduling International Games
Each season, there will be at least four games played internationally. Each NFL team is guaranteed to play a home game at an international site every eight seasons.
As part of the league adopting a 17-game schedule in 2021, AFC and NFC teams will alternate seasons where they have nine home games. The host teams for international games will be selected from the conference with the ninth home game, so clubs still will host eight games in their home stadium. For example, since NFC teams have a ninth home game in 2022, four NFC teams will be selected to host an international game that season.
Teams can still volunteer to play home games abroad, just as they have in previous seasons.
Teams usually have their bye week after an international game.
Schedule makers will consider the three-week window around the international games to try to find ways to make lengthy travel less of a burden on the teams.
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