The NFL is officially headed to Ireland. For the first time in league history, there will be a regular season game played in Dublin and it will be happening at Croke Park in 2025.
The NFL announced on Friday that the Pittsburgh Steelers will serve as the home team in the historical game, which shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, since the Steelers had been pushing to play in the Irish capital for several years now.
“We are very excited to be the designated team in the first regular season game to be played in Ireland this upcoming season,” Steelers’ President Art Rooney II said in a statement. “The opportunity for the Pittsburgh Steelers to play in Ireland is truly special, not only because of the Rooney family history there, but also to play in front of the growing number of Steelers fans in Ireland. We are thrilled to be part of this historic event to represent Pittsburgh in a game that brings the NFL to the great sports fans in Ireland.”
The Steelers have had NFL marketing rights in Ireland for nearly two years and they were granted those because the team has close ties to the region. For one, former Steelers chairman, Daniel M. Rooney, once served as the U.S. Ambassador to Ireland (2009-12). Also, the Steelers played a preseason game in the country 28 years ago. Back in July 1997, the Steelers beat the Bears 30-17 in a game that was played at Croke Park, the same stadium that will be hosting the game this year.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had even hinted in October that the Steelers would probably end up playing in Ireland if the league decided to put a game there.
“I know the Steelers really wanna go there,” Goodell said at the NFL’s 2024 Fall Meeting. “I have no doubt that we’re going to be playing in Ireland.”
This will mark the Steelers first international game since 2013 when they faced the Vikings in London.
The NFL didn’t announce who the Steelers would be playing, but their home schedule consists of the Bengals, Browns, Ravens, Bills, Dolphins, Colts, Packers, Vikings and Seahawks, so one of those teams will also be headed to Ireland.
With the game at Croke Park, there could easily be more than 80,000 fans in attendance. The stadium, which is the largest one in Ireland and third-largest in Europe, has a capacity of 82,300 for soccer, although it’s not clear if it will be able to hold that many fans for an NFL game.
The Steelers are one of six teams that have been tabbed to serve as the “home” team in an international game this year. Here’s a look at the full list:
- London: Jaguars (Wembley Stadium)
- London: Jets (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium)
- London: Browns (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium)
- Berlin: Colts
- Dublin: Steelers
- Madrid: Dolphins
Berlin, Dublin and Madrid are all hosting an NFL game for the first time. The NFL will also be heading to Australia for the first time, but that won’t be happening until 2026 with the Rams as the home team.
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