How Prince Albert could help bring the NFL to Paris and Monaco

2025 NFL Season: Week 13

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Sao Paulo, London, Berlin, Madrid: some of the biggest cities in the world presented the NFL this season.

Paris could soon follow as Stade de France attempts to become the new European host of a regular season match.

If the French capital is awarded a game in 2026 or 2027, the New Orleans Saints have said they want to play there.

But as the NFL’s international expansion continues, it could be headed somewhere even more glamorous.

The Saints’ efforts to develop American football in France helped them make friends in high places, earning the team an invitation to the exclusive enclave of Monaco.

How the Saints entered the French market

The NFL launched its global markets program in 2022, granting teams marketing rights outside of the United States, and the only region the Saints have ventured into is France.

Given the country’s cultural and historical ties to New Orleans, Saints senior vice president Greg Bensel told BBC Sport that “it was a natural market for us to go and seize.”

The Saints are the only NFL team with marketing rights in France, so they set about creating business and community ties virtually from scratch.

They contacted the respective ambassadors before looking at “what they have established in terms of tackling football”, and heard about the Paris Mousquetaires.

Owned by an American trio, the team began play in the European Football League in 2023. Led by former NFL head coach Jack del Rio, the Musketeers feature primarily French players and in May they and the Saints announced a strategic partnership that will include joint initiatives in New Orleans and Paris.

Linebacker Demario Davis was part of a Saints delegation that attended a series of events in Paris in July, including a Musketeers game and a flag football clinic for more than 200 girls and boys, organized by members of the Saints youth football department in conjunction with the Musketeers.

Why the Prince of Monaco started working with the saints

While establishing contacts in France, mutual friends introduced the saints to the Prince of Monaco, Albert II.

Not only is he the son of Academy Award winner Grace Kelly, who gave up a Hollywood film career to marry her father, Prince Rainier III, but Albert is also a keen sportsman and has competed in five Winter Olympics for Monaco in bobsleigh.

He was the Saints’ guest at this year’s Super Bowl in New Orleans. Donald Trump became the first sitting American president to attend the NFL championship game, Prince Albert was seated immediately behind him.

His last visit to Philadelphia, his mother’s hometown, was in 2023, and while in New Orleans in February, he wore an Eagles cap during a tour of the city.

“He loves the American lifestyle and sports,” Bensel said. “He loves the NFL, he loves the Saints and the city of New Orleans and he’s like, ‘What can I do to help and be a part of this?'”

Prince Albert invited Bensel and Saints owner Gayle Benson to the prestigious Red Cross gala in Monaco in July, where they discussed the possibility of hosting an off-season mini-camp in the principality.

They usually take place in May or June, and the most likely venue would be the AS Monaco football stadium.

“We had the opportunity to spend time with Charles Leclerc and other influential Monegasque figures,” added Bensel. “We were welcomed with open arms, in Paris and Monaco.

“Mrs Benson developed a wonderful relationship with Prince Albert and visited him on several occasions.

“He has expressed interest in potentially hosting our team in Monaco for two or three days of training. What does that look like? We’re talking about it right now. But he has a real interest in our team.”

Will there be an NFL game in Paris – or a return to Dublin?

Organizing a training camp in Monaco would certainly help to boost the Saints’ visibility in France ahead of a possible match in Paris.

The NFL visited the Stade de France and is preparing to announce its next international matches.

“We fully support this bid and would like to participate in this match,” Bensel said. “If we get a game in 2026 or 2027, we would love to do a lot of preparation for that.

“But we’ve done enough work in the market that we can press the go button and be ready.”

The Saints are in talks with the French Federation of American Football (FFFA) and plan to implement school flag football programs in five or six cities in France, as well as a league structure, before any match in Paris.

Benson also owns the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans, so the Saints management group already has media partners in France and knows that “the NBA is bigger than the NFL.”

“We did it with our eyes wide open,” Bensel added. “In the UK and Germany, they like the NFL. In France, not as much. We went into the market knowing that.”

The NFL is also discussing potential games in the Middle East and Asia, while Ireland and Spain have hosted their first games this season.

Brett Gosper, the NFL’s head of Europe and Asia Pacific, told BBC Sport that the league has “identified 13 markets that are our priority on a number of criteria, and our goal is to invest in those markets because we think there’s a fan base. We think there are partners there that can grow our footprint.”

Gosper said international games “serve as a lightning rod for new fans in the new markets we are expanding into.

“We just want to make sure that all the elements are in place to make these games a success when we enter these markets, and continue to work on them with a local presence as we move forward.”

And Gosper provided some positive news for any fans hoping for a match in Paris, or a return to Dublin or Madrid.

“If we go to the markets, it will never be punctual,” he said. “It may not be every year, but it won’t be unique.”