Alexander Steinforth, general manager of NFL Germany, has stressed the need for the event character in American football as opposed to other sports such as football. “We see ourselves as an entertainment platform. In addition to the sporting side, we also define ourselves by, for example, a half-time show,” Steinforth said in an interview with RTL before the start of the new NFL season.

While the eventisation of football, for example, is often criticised, football depends on precisely that. “With us, fans are not afraid to call the game an event. On the contrary, they actually demand it,” Steinforth said. The fans “want to have that experience”.

Steinforth, who himself originally comes from football and worked for Fortuna Düsseldorf, among others, also underlines the relevance of Germany as a market for the NFL. There are “about 17 to 18 million casual NFL fans here, including 3.6 million hardcore fans,” he said. In many areas, Germany is now the world’s largest market outside the USA.

The new season of the US professional league starts on Friday night with the duel of Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs against the Detroit Lions. This season, for the first time, two NFL games will be played in Germany. On 5 November, the Chiefs will meet the Miami Dolphins in Frankfurt. One week later, the six-time champion New England Patriots will also play in Frankfurt against the Indianapolis Colts.