The NFL will play a regular-season game in Australia tomorrow, with the Los Angeles Rams facing the San Francisco 49ers at the MCG.
So, why is a game of American football being played at one of Australia’s most iconic sporting grounds?
Here’s what you need to know.
NFL goes global
The NFL, the top U.S. professional American football league, has been hosting in-season games overseas since 2005.
The fixtures are part of the league’s effort to grow its international audience.
Since 2005, a total of 62 matches have been played abroad.
This season, the league is staging nine overseas fixtures across seven countries on four continents.
Melbourne, Rio de Janeiro, and Paris are all host cities for the first time this year.
The NFL is not stopping there.
Team owners voted in May to allow up to 10 international games a season from 2027.
Last month, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told German broadcaster RTL there will eventually be teams based outside the U.S, saying: “I have no doubt that this will happen one day.”
How does it work?
Each overseas game requires one team to give up a home fixture.
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In Melbourne, the Rams are the designated home team, despite the match being played more than 12,000km from Los Angeles.
The Rams also hold the marketing rights to Australia and New Zealand under the league’s Global Markets Program, which lets clubs build their brand in nominated countries outside the U.S.
Three other teams hold Australian rights: the Seattle Seahawks, Las Vegas Raiders, and Philadelphia Eagles.
Will they be back?
Victoria has signed a multi-year deal to host games at the MCG, though only this season’s fixture is locked in.
A 2027 return could be complicated by the AFL calendar, which has been pushed back by a week next year to make room for a cricket Test, meaning the MCG might be unavailable when the NFL season starts.
Almost half the crowd for Friday’s match is coming from interstate or overseas, according to the Victorian Government, with ticket-holders from more than 35 countries.
What to expect
The Rams and the 49ers are in the same NFL regional division (NFC West), meaning they meet twice a season.
Both finished with win-loss records of 12-5 last season, in a division where three teams won at least 12 games.
The Rams are favourites to win this match.
Kickoff is 10:35am (AEST) on Friday 11 September.
The game is streaming on Netflix, which requires a subscription.
