NFL announces Steelers will play in Dublin next season for Ireland's first regular-season game

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Dublin will host Ireland’s first NFL regular-season game when the Pittsburgh Steelers play at historic Croke Park in 2025, the league announced Friday, two days before the Chiefs and Eagles meet in the Super Bowl.

The Irish capital joins Madrid and Berlin as first-time hosts next season as the league expands its global footprint. It announced earlier this week that an NFL game would be played at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia in 2026.

The Steelers have long-standing ties to the Emerald Isle and a partnership with the Gaelic Athletic Association, which operates Croke Park, the principal national stadium of Ireland. The date and Pittsburgh's opponent will be announced this spring.

“I think the emotion you hear from all of us is the excitement to bring a regular-season game to Ireland with the Steelers, and how special that will be, and yes, it ultimately comes back to the fans,” said Peter O'Reilly, the NFL's executive vice president for international events. “We see Irish fans travel to games in London or Germany or elsewhere, but this is a game on Irish soil, in Dublin, at Croke Park, and an opportunity to create an incredible atmosphere.”

The Steelers have home games scheduled next season against AFC North rivals Baltimore, Cincinnati and Cleveland along with the Bills, Dolphins, Packers, Vikings, Colts and Seahawks.

“The scheduling of the Steelers' opponent will be done as part of our more traditional scheduling timeline this spring,” O'Reilly said. “I can't really comment on specifics there. That said, my sense is there are a lot of clubs who are interested in being part of this historic game. This is a big first in a market that a lot of people are excited about.”

As of the 2025 season, the NFL can schedule up to eight regular-season games internationally.

London will stage three next season — the Browns and Jets will be home teams for games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the Jets for a game at Wembley Stadium. The Colts will serve as the home team for the Berlin game at the Olympic Stadium and the Dolphins will be the hosts at the Bernabeu, the home stadium of Spanish soccer club Real Madrid.

The league also has considered having a team play back-to-back weeks in different European cities.

The Steelers played the Bears in a 1997 preseason game at Croke Park, which has a capacity of more than 82,000, while college football games have been played in Ireland dating back to the old Emerald Isle Classic in the late 1980s.

Notre Dame played Navy at Croke Park in 1996 and Penn State played UCF there in 2014. For the last three years, the Aer Lingus College Football Classic has been played at Aviva Stadium in Dublin; Kansas State plays Iowa State there on Aug. 23.

“I think our focus in growing our game globally is growing all levels of the game,” O'Reilly said, “and seeing college football and the partnership they have in Dublin over these recent years, that's a good thing overall.”

The Rooney family that founded and still owns the Steelers has deep roots in Ireland. It can trace its lineage to the town of Newry in County Down, before the family emigrated to Canada and eventually the U.S. in the 1800s. The late Daniel M. Rooney was U.S. ambassador to Ireland from 2009-12, and members of the family continue to have close ties to the nation.

“Growing up around my grandfather, and my father, one of the lessons they have always taught us is our strong connection to Ireland, and how meaningful Ireland is to the family,” said Daniel Martin Rooney, the son of Steelers president Art Rooney II, who serves as the team’s director of business development. “This is truly a dream come true for our franchise.”

The Steelers hold marketing rights in both Ireland and Northern Ireland as part of the league’s Global Markets Program, which allows teams to hold events and sign commercial deals in those locations.

The franchise has built support on the island through its partnership with the Gaelic Athletic Association. The organization manages and promotes Gaelic games, including Gaelic football and hurling. It also is hugely influential in Irish society given its historical significance to Irish independence.

As international consumer markets go, Ireland would be by far the smallest that the NFL has entered so far.

“We have an immense focus on growing the game of American football,” Daniel Rooney said. “We'll be bringing alumni, Steelers greats as well as current players over before next year's game. Certainly more to come and we're excited.”

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AP Sports Writer Ken Maguire contributed to this report.

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