“Eff them”; “Roger Goodell is going to make it happen”: Fans react as Saudi Arabia reportedly expresses interest in hosting NFL game

Ireland hosted its first NFL regular-season game last month as the league's commitment to global expansion and Saudi Arabia has reportedly expressed interest in taking the venture to the Middle East.

According to David Hellier of Bloomberg.com, Prince Turki Alalshikh, who oversees Saudi Arabia’s sports and entertainment interests, has expressed interest in bringing the NFL to the country.

“Britain got it; Brazil got it,” Alalshikh said. “Hopefully, Saudi Arabia will be next.”

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NFL fans reacted to Saudi Arabia showing interest in hosting a football game in the Middle East.

"Eff them."

"And Roger Goodell is going to make it happen. We’re watching the National Football League quickly become the International Football League."

"Then soon they want to host the Super Bowl like WrestleMania."

"Sure they do… and some home fans will lose another game for Nthe FL to make more $$."

"NFL won't be able to resist - so much so, that it may happen this season."

"If they buy down the cost of NFL tickets, parking, tailgate, concessions, and apparel by 90%…why not?"

Earlier this month, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium hosted the Minnesota Vikings and the Cleveland Browns. London also hosted a clash between the New York Jets and the Denver Broncos last week. The final game in the UK this year is set to feature the Jacksonville Jaguars against the Los Angeles Rams at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.

Germany will have its first NFL game when the Indianapolis Colts host the Atlanta Falcons at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin on Nov. 9. The international slate will conclude with the Miami Dolphins taking on the Washington Commanders at the Santiago Bernabeu, the league's first-ever regular-season game in Spain.

Tom Brady will participate in flag football tournament in Saudi Arabia next year

Last month, NFL icon Tom Brady announced that he'll be coming out of retirement to play in a three-team flag football tournament in Saudi Arabia next year. He will be joined by several current and former NFL stars.

According to reports, Saquon Barkley, CeeDee Lamb, Christian McCaffrey, Maxx Crosby and Rob Gronkowski are some of the names set to join Brady for the tournament in Riyadh in March 2026.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash