International games are becoming increasingly important in the NFL. Germany could also benefit from this and gain another location.

The first edition of “American Football Madness” (AFM) was held in Düsseldorf last week. The event is a combination of convention and festival for American football fans and professionals. The Merkur Spiel-Arena was chosen as the venue.

According to information from “sport.de,” one topic discussed at the event was the 16 international games per regular season that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has promised. There are still seven, but theoretically ten would be possible.

Germany will also continue to host one NFL game per year. While it has already been confirmed that Berlin will once again be awarded the contract for 2027 and 2029, the venue for next year’s game and for 2028 remains open.

Düsseldorf: Flag football as the deciding factor

This is another reason why Düsseldorf, where the AFM was just held, should be hopeful of winning the bid. The large city in North Rhine-Westphalia also offers a venue that meets the first size criteria (at least 50,000 seats) in the Merkur Spiel-Arena (54,600 seats).

Düsseldorf already competed for the game in Germany in the last bidding process, but narrowly failed. With the German NFL headquarters, Düsseldorf has another argument in its favor.

In addition, the city’s investment in flag football is also said to play a decisive role in the awarding of NFL games. Last year, Düsseldorf opened the “Sebastian Vollmer Feld” – a playing field designed specifically for this sport.

Düsseldorf may well have justified hopes of becoming the fourth German NFL location after Berlin, Munich, and Frankfurt.