Melbourne and Paris host first NFL games as international schedule announced

[p]The 100,000-seater Melbourne Cricket Ground will host a week one clash between the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/los-angeles-rams/z7hZioyR/"]LA Rams[/a] and the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/san-francisco-49ers/jBnfYoFr/"]San Francisco 49ers[/a] - the first time the league has been played on the continent.[/p][p]The MCG traditionally hosts cricket and AFL, as well as showpiece football events in the past.[/p][p]France will also have their first-ever regular season contest, taking place at the Stade de France in Week Seven, when the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/pittsburgh-steelers/AXWJxS6R/"]Pittsburgh Steelers[/a] will take on the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/new-orleans-saints/lSi5prB1/"]New Orleans Saints[/a].[/p][p]Ireland, which hosted its first-ever game in 2025, does not have one for 2026.[/p][embed guid="9ae0383e-ec89-4b1e-bb2d-357c99267e31" url="https://x.com/NFL/status/2054547534526419270" social-type="twitter" /][h2]A global game[/h2][p]Alongside Australia and France, Brazil, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Germany will also host games, making it nine games across three continents.[/p][p]London, which has been hosting regular-season contests since 2007, has the most, with three match-ups during the 2026 season.[/p][p]The full schedule for the 2026 NFL season is set to be released on Friday at 02:00 CET.[/p]