The NFL have confirmed that a regular-season game in the world’s biggest sports league will take place in Croke Park this autumn.
It has long been anticipated that the Pittsburgh Steelers would play host to a game in GAA HQ, with the league confirming today that the six-time Super Bowl champions will be the designated home team in the 82,000-capacity stadium.
Who the Steelers will play against has not been announced, though speculation is growing that it could be the Green Bay Packers, who have Irish-born punter Daniel Whelan on their squad.
Those details aren’t likely to be confirmed until later in the spring, however, teams including the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals could be the opponent.
“Expanding our footprint is key for the league. I am personally proud and excited to add another city that has a special place in our hearts,” Peter O’Reilly, the NFL’s International Executive said today as the game was confirmed in New Orleans ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl.
“The game will be delivered in partnership with the Irish government, and we are grateful for our great partners.
“The Steelers are a storied and very successful NFL franchise, and a team with deep history and authentic heritage on the island of Ireland.
“We could not be more excited about bringing a game to Ireland together. The atmosphere in Croke Park full of Irish NFL fans will be truly special.”
It’s the culmination of two years of intent from the Steelers, the NFL and the GAA to make Croke Park an NFL host venue. In August, Steelers owner Art Rooney II said: “I think there’s a good chance in the 2025 season that we’ll have an international game.
“Of course that’s up to the league, not up to us. We’re kind of due for that and we are expecting it could be in Mexico or Ireland.”
The momentum built in November when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell opened the door to an Irish game in 2025, saying: “We are definitely going to Spain, we expect to return to Mexico City and Brazil, we will certainly be back in the UK and we’re looking at potentially another game in the UK area – Ireland [is] a possibility.”
The Rooney family who own the Steelers have a long connection to Ireland. Team owner Dan M Rooney was the US Ambassador to Ireland during the Barack Obama presidency.
When Rooney, a prominent Irish-American, died in 2017 the team wore a shamrock logo with the DMR initials in his honour.
The Rooney family can trace their roots back to Newry, Co Down. In 1997 they played in Croke Park in a pre-season clash against the Chicago Bears. In 2025 it will not be a pre-season exhibition as the NFL continues its commitment to playing competitive regular-season games around the world.
The fast timeline from the Steelers joining the Irish market in 2023, when GAA president Larry McCarthy stated the Assocaiton’s ambition to use the “best stadium in Europe” for an NFL game within five years, to a game happening in 2025 can be attributed to the Steelers’ influence, as mentioned by Goodell in October when he noted that “the Steelers really want to play [in Ireland].”
Ireland joins the UK, Germany and Spain in the list of European countries where the NFL will take a game.
It’s all part of a greater global vision for the growth of the NFL and American football, with ambitions for up to 16 international games a year growing in league circles at a time when flag football, a sport that will be at the 2028 Olympics, is being used to increase participation in the game.
Earlier this week in New Orleans, the league also announced that they will play a game in Melbourne, Australia in 2026.