The Daily Star Ireland
It’s official from the NFL: Dublin will host its first regular-season game in 2025, probably one of the most significant international sporting events to be staged on Irish soil. Scheduled for next autumn, it will take place at Croke Park, home of the GAA, where the Pittsburgh Steelers will be listed as the designated home team.
Opponent for the Steelers has not been determined yet; however, potential rivals will be Green Bay Packers, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, Indianapolis Colts, or Seattle Seahawks.
The announcement was made in New Orleans ahead of this weekend’s Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. A decision to bring the game to Ireland followed discussions between the NFL and the Department of Arts, Tourism, Media, and Sport, which agreed the event will be hosted in conjunction with the Irish Government.
The Steelers have been growing in Ireland since 2023, when the franchise was granted marketing rights to grow their activities across the country. Since then, the team has held two sell-out watch parties at the Hogan Suite in Croke Park among other events in the country.
The Rooney family, who own the Steelers, have deep Irish roots, specifically in Newry, County Down. The former Steelers owner, Dan M. Rooney, who had a term as the U.S. Ambassador to Ireland from 2009-2012, was a huge catalyst for this connection between the Steelers and Ireland. His son and current owner, Art Rooney II, recognized it.
“Our family has a very strong association with Ireland, and reaching our fans there really means something unique to our organization,” he said. “From co-founding the Ireland Funds to serving as ambassador, my father did an awful lot for Ireland. So we are pleased to grow our fanbase, and we would like to build on our growing popularity of American football in years to come.”
The Steelers also played a pre-season game in Dublin in 1997 against the Chicago Bears. And, of course, with Croke Park joining iconic venues like London’s Wembley Stadium, Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu, and Berlin’s Olympiastadion, this was part of the NFL’s international expansion in 2025.
The 2024 Super Bowl between the Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers will be the ninth most-watched sporting event of all time. Meanwhile, Croke Park stadium director Peter McKenna spoke to the Irish Steelers Podcast about the very long journey to securing the NFL game.
“It’s amazing,” McKenna said. “Our first bid for an NFL game was back in 2012, and now it’s happening. The NFL is the biggest sport in the world, and securing this game is a massive achievement for us.”
With the close of the Gaelic games season in August and concerts by Oasis and Robbie Williams, the calendar is packed – but McKenna was happy to report that the field is shaping up well:.
“The playing surface will be in top shape,” he said. “We take great pride in maintaining one of the best fields, and the NFL was impressed that we have our own turf farm, allowing us to match the playing surface they prefer.”
Dan Rooney, the Steelers’ director of business development and strategy, also spoke to the importance of staging a live NFL game in Ireland.
“There’s nothing like doing an American football game live,” he said. “For our Irish fans to have this in their own backyard is incredible. It’s a huge step in growing the sport, expanding the Steelers’ fanbase, and strengthening our connection with Ireland.”
“The Steelers are working to be Ireland’s NFL team through actual engagement. With our family’s heritage, we’re looking forward to this game taking that to the next level with the Irish people and placing Pittsburgh on a global stage.”
He said that his grandfather, Dan M. Rooney, would have been proud of the organization for this move. “We can’t wait to kick off in Dublin,” he said.
The Steelers, established in 1933, are the seventh-oldest team in the NFL, having won six Super Bowls. This season, they were eliminated in the first round of the AFC playoffs by the Baltimore Ravens.
