By Nicole Fernandes
May 14 (Reuters) - The global appetite for the NFL has been growing "very, very rapidly," executive Peter O’Reilly told Reuters on Thursday, with the league gearing up for a season that will feature a record nine games outside the United States, including debuts in Melbourne, Rio de Janeiro and Paris.
London, Madrid, Munich and Mexico City will also host regular-season games this year.
"Every market we go to, we're seeing that growth,” said O’Reilly, the NFL executive vice president
of club business, major events and international, in an interview with Reuters.
"We know that we’re a challenger sport around the world in many cases, and we come in humbly and wanting to really partner and grow the game, and create more access to our game."
The NFL launched the International Games series in 2007. More than 60 regular-season games have been played outside the U.S., including in Berlin, Frankfurt, Dublin, Sao Paulo and Toronto.
In Australia, the demand and passion for football in Melbourne exceeded the league’s expectations, O’Reilly said. Only a few tickets remain on Ticketmaster for the San Francisco 49ers v Los Angeles Rams clash in September at Melbourne Cricket Ground, which has a capacity of 100,000.
The global games bring a major business boost to the NFL, from ticket sales to social media engagement and greater television viewership.
Last year’s overseas games on NFL Network averaged 6.2 million viewers across six matchups, marking the most-watched NFL Network International Games season average on record.
The games outside the U.S. are like "mini Super Bowls," said O’Reilly, held in massive stadiums packed with enthusiastic fans, many of them from local markets. But the purpose is not solely to create a big spectacle.
"We want to be the opposite of the circus coming to town," said O’Reilly. "It’s about putting down roots."
In April, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced an initiative to provide free flag football kits to all schools across Australia to increase access to the sport and support youth participation.
Introducing such programs to new countries is a priority for the NFL, which has eight international offices, as it continues to grow globally.
"We want to grow the game, we want to drive viewership. There's a business objective," said O’Reilly. "But it's balanced with that community sport development focus as well."
With overseas games bringing new fans, heightened visibility and greater demand, Goodell has previously spoken about the possibility of hosting a Super Bowl outside the U.S., saying last year that it could happen if the NFL expands to have a team based outside the U.S.
For now, though, the focus remains on strengthening the league's global footprint and tapping into priority markets.
"I would say it's not on the front burner at the moment," O’Reilly said of an overseas Super Bowl. "But we wouldn't rule it out someday."
(Reporting by Nicole Fernandes in TorontoEditing by Toby Davis)
