Mon, February 02, 2026
NFL to return to Madrid in 2026 as part of multi-year deal, and international fixtures may increase to nine different locations this year
The National Football League (NFL), a professional American football league, is planning to return to Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium for a regular season game this year as part of a multi-year deal to continue its international expansion, and international fixtures may increase to nine different locations this year.
The American league is planning to return to Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, which held its first NFL game in late 2025 between Miami Dolphins and the Washington Commanders, for a regular season game in 2026 as part of a multi-year deal with the City of Madrid and Comunidad de Madrid (Community of Madrid) to continue its international expansion. This multi-year deal includes a match in Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in 2027 as well.
The NFL stated that: “Spain is an important market for the NFL globally with 11 million fans.” It is yet to be decided which teams will play in Madrid this year, but the Chicago Bears, Kansas City Chiefs and Dolphins all have marketing rights in Spain.
Games were also played in London, Berlin, Dublin and Sao Paulo in 2025. In 2026, the NFL hopes games will be held in nine international destinations, and this may increase to 16 in the future. So far, games will be held in Melbourne, Rio de Janeiro, Germany, London and Madrid.
The Jackson Jaguars have played a ‘home’ game annually in London since 2013, but this is part of a different agreement to the NFL’s main international setup. Despite being an American team, they have a very strong, official ‘home team’ presence in London.
NFL Spain Country Manager, Rafa De Los Santos, stated: “The 2025 NFL Madrid game at the Bernabéu was a pivotal moment for the sport in Spain, and we are delighted to confirm that we will return to play a regular season game in 2026 in a multi-year partnership with the City of Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid and Real Madrid C.F. …
This multi-year commitment to playing games in Madrid - a world-class global cultural and sporting destination - underlines our commitment to the market and enables us to continue to engage fans year-round and invest long-term in initiatives like NFL Flag and youth participation nationwide.”
Flag football, the non‑contact version of the game, will make its debut as an Olympic sport in Los Angeles 2028.
The NFL’s statement can be found here.
