NFL Eyes Japan as League Accelerates Its Global Expansion

VoS NEWS DESK | SPORTS | 1 September 2026

The NFL is considering Japan as one of the next major markets for its international programme, with league officials highlighting the country's existing interest in American sports and growing participation in American football.

Brett Gosper, the NFL's head of Europe and Asia-Pacific, said Japan is currently a market of interest for the league. He pointed to the country's established following for American sports such as baseball, as well as participation in American football, as factors supporting the NFL's interest.

The potential Japanese expansion comes as the NFL prepares for its largest international season yet. The 2026 regular season will feature a record nine games outside the United States across seven countries and four continents.

The league's international schedule includes new destinations such as Australia, France and Brazil, alongside established markets including the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany and Mexico.

Australia will host its first-ever NFL regular-season game on 10 September, when the San Francisco 49ers face the Los Angeles Rams at Melbourne Cricket Ground. The historic fixture represents another major step in the league's strategy of taking regular-season American football to new audiences.

Japan already has a history with the NFL. Tokyo hosted a regular-season game in 1998, when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Green Bay Packers, while the Tokyo Dome has also staged NFL pre-season contests. League Commissioner Roger Goodell has previously said the NFL wants to return to Japan for a regular-season fixture.

The league's ambitions extend well beyond the current nine-game schedule. NFL owners have approved an increase to up to 10 international games beyond the 2026 season, while Goodell has spoken about a longer-term goal of eventually reaching 16 international games per season.

Asia remains one of the most attractive areas for future growth, although the NFL recognises that the region presents logistical challenges, particularly because of time-zone differences and the cost of transporting teams and staff over long distances.

Japan nevertheless offers several advantages. It has a large and sophisticated sports market, a strong existing relationship with American culture and sports, and an established domestic American-football community.

The NFL is also building its international presence through its Global Markets Programme, which gives individual clubs commercial and fan-engagement rights in overseas markets. The programme now covers 22 international markets, with the Los Angeles Rams among the teams holding marketing rights in Japan.

These initiatives allow the league and its clubs to develop local fan bases before potentially staging major regular-season events in new countries.

VoS STRATEGIC INSIGHT

The NFL's interest in Japan demonstrates how the league is increasingly treating international expansion as a long-term growth strategy rather than a series of occasional overseas matches.

A regular-season game in Japan would give the league access to one of Asia's largest and most influential sports markets while providing an opportunity to introduce American football to a much wider audience.

The strategy is already producing a broader international footprint. In 2026, NFL games will be played across seven countries, including the league's first regular-season fixtures in Australia and France.

If Japan eventually joins the regular-season schedule, it could become an important gateway for the NFL's wider ambitions in Asia.

For the NFL, the objective is clear: turn international curiosity into sustained local fandom, expand commercial opportunities and establish American football as a more prominent global sport.

Source: Reuters / NFL / UPI / VoS News Desk