The NFL is trying its hardest to expand outside of the United States by playing games in other countries. The league has most notably played games in London every year for the last decade, but since 2016, it has tried to bring the sport to Mexico City by playing games at Estadio Azteca.
This happened on Sunday afternoon, as the New England Patriots and the Oakland Raiders squared off with the Patriots coming out on top, 33-8. But the biggest news to come out of the final game outside of the United States this year happened before kickoff, when it was announced that the league will keep hosting games in Mexico City for the foreseeable future.
The NFL put out a joint statement with Mexico’s Ministry of Tourism about the future of the game, which will take place through 2021.
The @NFL & Mexico Ministry of Tourism announce agreement to play NFL game in Mexico through 2021 pic.twitter.com/uzt5x5AV2D
— Michael Signora (@NFLfootballinfo) November 19, 2017
As the statement notes, the league was previously slated to host Mexico City games through next season. There’s no word on which teams will participate in the game moving forward, but making sure this series keeps occurring was probably high on Roger Goodell’s to do list heading into this season with how the league wants to expand its influence outside of the United States. Seeing as how more than 77,000 fans went to watch the Patriots and the Raiders, getting this done was a good idea.
