The NFL is slated to have up to eight international games for the 2025 season, and one of those is expected to be in Ireland for the first time. The league also has one of the teams set to play there.
Per the Irish Examiner, the Pittsburgh Steelers would be one of teams playing at Croke Park (the stadium the Ireland game would be played in). The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), Ireland’s largest sporting organization, and the Steelers have built a strong relationship over the past two seasons, which included a visit by the GAA leadership council to UPMC Rooney Sports Complex at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh back in March.
Dublin has hosted an NFL game before with the Steelers, as they played the Chicago Bears in the preseason American Bowl in 1997. This regular season game, against an opponent to be determined, is reportedly scheduled to be played in September.
“I know the Steelers really wanna go there,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in October. “I have no doubt that we’re going to be playing in Ireland. I don’t know if it will be next year, but it’s coming soon.”
Dan Rooney, the franchise’s director of business development and strategy, has not kept it a secret of the Steelers’ intentions to play in Ireland.
“It’s been a goal from the start, being able to pursue an opportunity to play a live game in front of the Irish fans,” Rooney said, via BBC Sport NI. “We are working with the NFL on that and we’re looking forward to seeing what’s coming.”
The NFL announced the first-ever game in Berlin earlier this week and announced the first-ever game in Spain (in Madrid) earlier this year — both of which will be a part of the 2025 regular season schedule. The NFL has also committed to having two games in London at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next year, and as many as four more international contests (including Ireland) could be added to the schedule.
