MADRID (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons will play in the second ever NFL regular season game in Madrid this year.
The Falcons' opponent will be confirmed when the full season schedule is released later in the year. The Falcons are expected to be the home team at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
The Madrid game is part of a record nine international games in 2026, including new host cities in France, Australia and Brazil.
The Washington Commanders faced the Miami Dolphins in the inaugural game in the Spanish capital last year at the Bernabeu. The Dolphins won 16-13 in overtime before a crowd of 78,610 fans.
This summer, Spain's national soccer team will play two World Cup matches at the Falcons' Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
"We are incredibly proud to be part of an NFL regular season game in Madrid at the iconic Bernabeu,” Falcons president and CEO Greg Beadles said in the NFL announcement on Tuesday. “Atlanta and Madrid are a fitting match as we will host two of Spain’s group stage matches in the upcoming FIFA World Cup at Mercedes-Benz Stadium."
It will be the Falcons' fifth trip to Europe, and fourth in six seasons. Atlanta played in Toronto in 2013, London in 2014, 2021 and 2023, and Berlin in 2025.
The NFL announced in February it reached a multiyear deal to keep playing regular season games at the Bernabeu. The league said Spain was “an important market globally” with 11 million fans. It said it will also focus on developing the league’s flag football initiatives across the country.
The Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs and Chicago Bears have marketing rights in Spain as part of the league’s global markets program, which awards NFL teams rights in areas outside the U.S. to “build brand awareness and fandom through fan engagement, events and commercial opportunities.”
The NFL has said it plans to increase the number of international games to a point where each team will get to play a game abroad every year.
The NFL says it has played 62 regular season games outside the U.S., hosted by London, Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Madrid, Dublin, Sao Paulo, Mexico City and Toronto.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
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