Munich will stage the first-ever regular-season NFL game in Germany during the 2022 season. Following a competitive application process, the FC Bayern Munich Stadium was selected as the venue for two of the four International Series games to be played in Germany over the next four years. Frankfurt Stadium will also host two games.
“We are very pleased to welcome Munich and Frankfurt to the NFL family and are excited to reward our fans in Germany for their passion by bringing them the spectacle of regular-season NFL football,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “We look forward to staging our first game in Germany at FC Bayern Munich’s fantastic stadium later this year and to exploring areas of broader collaboration with the Bundesliga.”
The game in Munich will be one of five international games staged by the NFL in 2022, including one in Mexico and three in London, UK – two at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and a Jacksonville Jaguars home game at Wembley Stadium. Home teams for international games will be announced in the coming weeks, with dates and matchups to be confirmed in conjunction with the 2022 NFL schedule announcement later this year.
Dieter Reiter, Lord Mayor of Munich, said: “We are very pleased to welcome the NFL International Series to Munich. It is a great honour for the state capital Munich to be the first German city to stage a regular-season NFL game. Many Munich residents are big football fans and they will be thrilled that this spectacular sporting event is coming to their city.”
Axel Hellman, CEO of Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt, added: “We are totally excited to be hosting two matches in the next years here in Frankfurt. Welcome to Eintracht Frankfurt. Welcome to the heart of Europe.”
The selection process for NFL games in Germany began last year with initial expressions of interest from nine cities, after which Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich were invited to participate in a full evaluation of the opportunities offered by each city. The partnerships between the NFL and Munich and Frankfurt include a joint commitment to deliver fan engagements activities, community participation programs and other NFL initiatives.
“We are looking forward to partnerships with Munich and Frankfurt that will extend beyond the games and help us to deliver accelerated growth in Germany,” said Brett Gosper, NFL head of Europe and UK. “The strong interest we received underlined what a fantastic opportunity regular-season games offer for a host, ranging from significant economic benefits and global exposure to the chance to become a hub for the growth of the NFL’s fan engagement, community and grassroots activities. We also thank Düsseldorf, which presented a strong aligned consortium with ambitious plans. We look forward to developing a partnership there, with a potential for hosting games in the future.”
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