The NFL wants to reach new heights now and is planning to play a regular-season game in Tokyo in either 2027 or 2028, as per commissioner Roger Goodell.

The NFL has already shown its mettle with the huge trip to Melbourne, Australia, for a Week 1 game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams. 

“Listen, Tokyo is clearly on our list, whether it’s next year or the year after. It’s coming at some point in the near future,” Goodell told NFL Daily, according to the Japan Times.

He also mentioned that he was going to focus on the priority markets which several of them have been in.  This year, they also went to Rio (de Janeiro) rather than Sao Paulo.” 

Goodell expressed that on a Friday at 10:30 a.m, he saw a whopping 100,000 people in the stadium and that was the most incredible feeling for all of them. He noted, “I think it’s opened up new opportunities for us.” 

Has the NFL ever gone to Japan before?

Tokyo has been a host for the NFL before but never for a regular season matchup. The NFL has played 14 exhibition games in Japan, 13 of these games were in Tokyo. The first NFL matchup in Japan was a preseason game between the Chargers and Cardinals in 1976.

After ten years, the NFL has commenced its "American Bowl" series of international exhibition games, which is a forerunner to its present international series. The league again visited the island nation, and this time more regularly, for American Bowl games before it decided to abandon the international preseason game schedule in the early 2000s.

The last game that happened in Japan was a preseason game between the Falcons and Colts in 2005. 

Written by

Tanushree Bhowmick

Edited by

Tanushree Bhowmick