The Irish Government are today being briefed by Minister for Sport Patrick O’Donovan on the possibility of a regular season NFL match coming to Croke Park this autumn.
The Cabinet are expected to make a decision as early as this week ahead of the Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Green Bay Packers clash with the Pittsburgh Steelers the game in question, with the fixture expected to be either in September or October 2025.
Wicklow’s Dan Whelan plays for The Packers, becoming the first Irishman in 41 years to make an appearance in the NFL play-offs in January 2024.
The Packers finished 3rd in NFC North last year, with The Steelers finishing one place above them under head coach Mike Tomlin.
The NFL have made a series of efforts to expand the game globally in recent years, with the new International Player Pathway (IPP) programme seeing former Down goalkeeper Charlie Smyth sign a contract with New Orleans Saints last year, amongst a host of other international stars.
In 2024, London hosted NFL affairs in Wembley Stadium as well as the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena and Sao Paolo’s Corinthians’ Arena were the other international venues chosen.
Croke Park has also hosted the Aer Lingus College Football classic in 2014, with a fixture clash leading to much controversy when Kerry’s All-Ireland semi-final replay with Mayo was played in Limerick.
The College Classic returned to the Aviva Stadium thereafter, albeit on a Covid interrupted basis, on the same grounds that Lansdowne Road hosted the first NCAA sanctioned college game back in 1988.
Confirmation of the Packers v Steelers fixture in Dublin would represent a huge financial boost to Ireland, with the original Emerald Isle Classic 13 years ago generating an estimated €100 million to the Irish economy in a match of far smaller stature.