The NFL will play its first regular season game in Ireland in 2025. The home team has already been chosen.

Dominik Kaiser and Rainer Nachtwey report from the Super Bowl in New Orleans

In 2025, a regular season game will be played in Dublin for the first time.

The league announced this in advance of the 2025 Super Bowl in New Orleans.

At the press conference, the NFL announced that the Pittsburgh Steelers will be the first home team to play in Ireland. The game will be played in the legendary Croke Park.

As early as 1997, the six-time Super Bowl champion played a pre-season game in the historic stadium. Now it’s time for the first regular season game in Ireland. The Steelers’ connection to the NFL International Games’ newest location is historic.

Franchise founder Arthur Joseph Rooney comes from an Irish family that emigrated to Pittsburgh in the 18th century. His son, Arthur Joseph Rooney II, succeeded him as “chairman” of the franchise and is still active today.

His grandson Daniel Martin Rooney has been looking after the franchise since 2022 as Director of Business Development and Strategy. He was also involved in the announcement and emphasized several times how important this game is for him, his family and everyone who supports the Steelers.

Many fans from Ireland were already there live

During the 2023 and 2024 seasons, there was already a so-called “watch party” during each season, Rooney said enthusiastically. These were successful and already brought thousands of fans from all over the country to Croke Park.

So now the leap from the screen to the field. At least for most of them. It is well known that plenty of Irish fans not only came to the London games that have taken place so far, but also came to Germany to watch the NFL live and in action.

In Dublin, the NFL can now look forward to a huge football spectacle.