Newswise — The 2024 NFL season opened last night with the reigning champs Kansas City Chiefs notching a 27-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens. Tonight, the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in Sao Paulo, where the league is hosting its first-ever regular season game in Brazil. There will be other international games this season, including in London and Munich, and in the following season as well, with plans to host a game in another new city, Madrid, for the 2025 season.

If you would like more context on this matter, please consider Lisa Delpy Neirotti, the director of the MS in Sport Management Program and an associate professor of Sport Management at the George Washington University. She has been a professor of sport, event and tourism management at GW for more than 30 years. Beyond her responsibilities at GW, Delpy Neirotti works with a number of sport event organizations, sponsors, and professional teams to conduct economic and market research studies including the Olympic Games, World Cup, College Football Bowl Games, among others.

In a recent interview with The Washington Times, Neirotti spoke about the NFL’s international efforts.

“They’re kind of at a cap right now…How many more Americans can be watching football? So they have to, if they’re going to grow, expand internationally.”

She added, “They’re making international games a more consistent and prominent effort and scheduling unique games — lineups that could attract people. Before it was just, ‘Let’s try it and see what happens.’ But now they know it works, so they need more marketing in-country."

If you would like to speak with Professor Delpy Neirotti, please contact Media Relations Specialist Cate Douglass at [email protected].


-GW-

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