The NFL is planting its flag in the Middle East.
The Washington Commanders, San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams have been awarded international marketing rights in the United Arab Emirates, one of two new areas added to the NFL’s global markets program.
The program, which launched in 2022, awards teams international marketing rights to build fan engagement and brand awareness outside of the States. This includes watch parties and other fan events, along with flag football development, which has been a critical aspect of the league’s globalization efforts. Clubs are awarded rights for a five-year term, and they can pursue opportunities in a similar way to what they do for their domestic home market.
This is the first year NFL teams have been awarded rights in the UAE. The Commanders, who are participating in the global markets program for the first time, intend to explore commercial opportunities centered on marketing and fan engagement in the seven emirates, which has emerged as a global investment hub. They will be joined by the Rams—who also have rights in Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, Mexico and New Zealand—and the 49ers, who have rights in Mexico and the United Kingdom.
The NFL will play seven regular-season games in international cities this season, including in Berlin, Madrid and Dublin for the first time. Additionally, a regular season NFL game will be played in Melbourne in 2026.
NFL executive vice president of club business and league events Peter O’Reilly said on Monday that the league will explore playing a regular season game in the UAE.
The Commanders are one of four teams participating in the NFL’s global markets program for the first time this year. They’re joined by the Baltimore Ravens (granted rights in the United Kingdom), Green Bay Packers (Germany, Ireland and the U.K.) and Los Angeles Chargers (Greece, the other country participating in the program for the first time). In total, 29 teams are now in the program across 21 international markets, which is up from 25 clubs across 19 markets last season. The Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills and the Tennessee Titans are the only three teams still not participating.
