The National Football League is coming to Frankfurt in November. The host team will be announced in the coming days. There are already indications of who it could be.
The current NFL season is in full swing. The first playoff games start on Saturday evening German time. And while football Germany should be cheering along, the focus is at least furtively on the coming season. The big football circus is coming to Frankfurt in November. And of course all fans ask themselves: with which teams?
The league wants to announce the home teams for the international games in the coming days. So fans of all franchises can still hope to see their favorite players up close in Frankfurt. At least as far as the home team is concerned, there are strong tendencies as to which teams are suitable for a game in Hesse.
Four shortlisted teams
Last year, the NFL selected four teams to take particular care of fan loyalty in Germany: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Carolina Panthers, the Kansas City Chief and the New England Patriots have the exclusive marketing rights for Good old Germany secured. It would be very surprising if these teams would not also play in Germany in the near future.
As a candidate for the Frankfurt game in November, the Bucs around mega-star Tom Brady can be ruled out. The footballers from Florida played the first German NFL game in Munich last year. The second home game on German soil will definitely be awarded to a franchise.
Has the head of the sports department Josef spilled the beans?
Quite a few fans are now betting on a Frankfurt game by the Carolina Panthers. After all, they announced a partnership with Eintracht last year. However, what clearly speaks against the Charlotte club for 2023 is the number of home games. The Panthers will only play eight of 17 games at home in the coming season. If they then host one of them abroad, at least the home Carolina fans will not be exactly happy.
That leaves the Kansas City Chiefs and the New England Patriots, both of whom have nine home games. Just these two teams also called Frankfurt’s sports department head Mike Josef (SPD), when he was interviewed by hr-sport was asked about his preferred teams for the Frankfurt game. That may be a coincidence, after all, Josef said that he didn’t know which team was coming to Frankfurt, but maybe it was a pointer.
Maybe even two games in Frankfurt
The Chiefs, it should be added at this point, have been working together with Bayern Munich for some time. And: Because the planned game in Mexico cannot take place this year due to stadium work, there is speculation about a second game in Germany. The Patriots in Frankfurt and the Chiefs in Munich would be almost the only logical distribution.
However, it is also rumored that the NFL wants to play two games in Frankfurt this year. That would simplify the organization, they say. But will the Chiefs also play in the Main metropolis or would they rather wait for a game in Munich and let another club go first? A Panthers game in Frankfurt does not seem to be completely off the table for this year either.