In 2025, the Miami Dolphins and Washington Commanders played the first ever NFL game in Spain. The whole event went well enough for the NFL to start again in 2026.
The league announced Monday that it will return to Spain for another international match next season. This is part of a multi-year partnership with the country, meaning the league will likely play several matches in Spain over the next two years.
The 2026 match will be played at the Bernabéu stadium, which hosted the Commanders and the Dolphins this season. This competition, which took place in November, ended in an extension, with the Dolphins earn close 16-13 win over Commanders. The NFL has not announced which teams will play in the 2026 Spain game.
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With this announcement, the NFL now has seven international games on its schedule for the 2026 season. The league will play one game in Australia, one game in Brazil, one game in Germany, three games in the United Kingdom and one game in Spain. The NFL has confirmed that the Los Angeles Rams are one of the teams playing in Australia and the Jacksonville Jaguars are one of the teams playing in London. But the league has not announced additional teams for its international matches next season. The NFL has also not announced a date or time for any international games in 2026.
The league first began playing international games in 2007, when the Dolphins played the New York Giants at Wembley Stadium in London. Since then, the league has essentially hosted at least one international match every season, although no international matches took place during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
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The NFL has attempted to expand the number of countries it holds games in, with Brazil, Ireland and Spain all added to the mix since 2024.
