The NFL’s international presence has been expanding over the past few years and that expansion could soon include putting a game in Australia.
Peter O’Reilly, the NFL’s head of international affairs, revealed at the Spring League Meeting on Tuesday that Australia is under consideration for hosting a future game. O’Reilly’s comments came less than 24 hours after 9News in Melbourne, Australia had reported that the NFL would likely be moving at least one regular-season game Down Under in either 2025 or 2026. O’Reilly mentioned that 2025 is definitely a possibility.
It’s not completely clear yet where the game would be held, but 9News reported that one stadium in Melbourne — the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) — has already had early discussions with the NFL.
Before the NFL makes an official decision though, the league has to figure out the traveling logistics for the two teams that would be involved.
“When you start to talk about Asia, Pacific and Australia, you talk about distance and logistics and the football component of that,” O’Reilly said, via the AP. “So those factors are real.”
Although the logistics would be complicated, it wouldn’t be impossible. There’s a 14-hour time difference between Melbourne/Sydney and the Eastern Time Zone in the United States, which isn’t ideal, but the NFL could certainly work around it. If the game kicked off at noon on Monday in Melbourne, that would be a 9 p.m. ET Sunday night kickoff in the United States.
The NFL could also put the game in Week 1 and play it on Friday afternoon or Saturday afternoon in Australia, which would put it on Thursday night or Friday night in the United States. If the league went that route, the two teams involved would have plenty of time to travel back and readjust to time in the U.S.
If the NFL chose to put the game after Week 1, the two teams playing in the game would likely need a bye after…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-eyeing-australia-for-possible-regular-season-game-that-could-happen-as-soon-as-2025/
Author : John Breech
Publish date : 2024-05-21 23:14:17
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