(Reuters) – The NFL has continued its push into international markets this year with regular season games in Brazil and London and one set for Germany next month but on Thursday said it has no near-term plans to hold a Super Bowl outside the United States.
The host cities for the next four Super Bowl games have already been selected and NFL Executive Vice President Peter O’Reilly said there was no current focus on bringing the league’s biggest annual event outside U.S. borders.
“That’s not necessarily something we are focused on in the near term,” O’Reilly told reporters on a video conference.
“Wouldn’t rule it out in the broader longer term context but our focus really on the international front in terms of games is around growing the number of regular season games now with the opportunity to do that and focus on strategic markets.”
In September, Brazil hosted the first-ever National Football League regular season game in South America while two games were held in London over the last two weeks at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
A third London game is scheduled to be played on Sunday at Wembley Stadium followed by a November match in Munich at the home of German soccer club Bayern Munich.
O’Reilly said there was strong demand from American cities to host the Super Bowl, which is the most-watched sporting event in the United States each year, and that’s where the league’s focus remains despite its push into international markets.
“We know we’ve got the passion around the world. We’ve got some great buildings, like Tottenham, that could potentially host a Super Bowl,” said O’Reilly.
“But our (international) focus is really around regular season games and obviously we would never rule something out down the line, but it’s not something that we are talking about or is front burner for us.”
New Orleans will host the next Super Bowl on Feb. 9, before the game shifts to California for two years with the Santa Clara home of the San Francisco 49ers hosting in 2026 and Los Angeles in 2027. Atlanta will host the Super Bowl in 2028.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Toby Davis)
Comments