Spain, Mexico and Brazil stand out among the countries with the greatest growth in fans of the National Football League (NFL), which has 183 million fans in its nine main markets outside the United States.
Spain, which will host an NFL regular season game for the first time on November 16 with the clash between the Dolphins and Commanders at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium in Madrid, has 11.3 million followers, as EFE learned from sources close to the league this Friday.
In Europe, Germany, with 20.9 million, is the country with the highest number of NFL fans, followed by the United Kingdom, with 17.3, France, with 14.2 million, and Spain, 11.3.
Since 2007, London has hosted 40 NFL games that have represented an economic impact of just over $2,669 million.
In America, Mexico, which has 39.9 million, is the nation that leads the number of followers of the National Football League; Brazil appears behind, with 26.1, and Canada has 15.6.
On this continent, Mexico is also the country that has received the most regular season games from the NFL, with five, the most recent of which took place in November 2022, when the San Francisco 49ers beat the Arizona Cardinals 38-10 at the Azteca stadium.
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The remodeling to which this property was subjected, for the 2026 World Cup, prevented more games from being played since then, something that will change in the 2026 season, when the NFL returns to the country as announced by Roger Goodell, commissioner of the league, on October 2.
Brazil has received two regular season games. Both at the Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo; In the first in 2024 the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Green Bay Packers 34-29, in the second, played on September 5, the Los Angeles Chargers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 27-21.
That first match in South America in 2024 generated an economic impact of 61.9 million dollars around the event.
On September 26, the NFL reported the agreement it reached so that, starting in 2026, three games will be played over five years at the Maracaná stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
The other main markets with the most NFL fans in the world are China, with 20.2 million, and Australia, with 7.5.
In 2026, Melbourne will have its first NFL season match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground; The Los Angeles Rams are the first team confirmed for said game.
With information from EFE.
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