09-25-2025, 10:27 AM
EAGAN, Minn. -- The NFL launched an expansion of its global reach this spring. For the first time, a team would face the daunting gauntlet of consecutive international games in different counties.
Which club would the NFL burden with the job? It turned out to be the Minnesota Vikings, whom the league scheduled for a game in Ireland during Week 4 and England in Week 5.
Immediately, Vikings staffers began hearing from their friends around the league.
"A lot of people reached out and said, 'What did you guys do to the NFL to get this?'" said Vikings vice president of player health and performance Tyler Williams.
Equipment manager Mike Parson laughed and said: "They said we got screwed."
Although they are the visiting team in both cases, against the Steelers in Dublin and the Browns in London, the team's market research and branding efforts have indicated strong local support in both cities. Keisha Wyatt, the Vikings' director of international marketing, estimated that 40% of the crowd at Dublin's Croke Park and up to 60% at London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be Vikings fans.
Those proportions would effectively neutralize two of the nine road games the Vikings otherwise would have played in 2025. And because they are scheduled in consecutive weeks, the Vikings will remain overseas, making only a 90-minute flight from Dublin to London in between. Owners Zygi and Mark Wilf have aggressively pursued international outreach, having claimed jurisdiction in the United Kingdom as an original participant in the NFL's Global Markets Program, and they eagerly accepted when the league proposed the possibility during the schedule-making process.
"We're club first, but we are also very mindful of making sure the league and the sport grows," Mark Wilf said. "The more the business grows, the more the fandom grows, and it just makes it exciting for everyone. ... We've spent a lot of time with Tyler [Williams] and the crew making sure our players will be ready. Our players are up to it."
The Jacksonville Jaguars have played consecutive games in London, but the NFL wanted to test out a European road trip -- and found a willing partner in the Vikings.
"They're certainly a club that has leaned into the international opportunity," said Peter O'Reilly, the NFL's executive vice president of club business, international and league events. "And we do learn things. We learn things together with the clubs in terms of the operational components, ensuring that we can continue to get better in terms of the team operations, the experience overall, and in this case, moving between two countries.
"We're really confident in the plan that we have in place and the work that we've done with the Vikings leading up to it, but it's really about learning as we continue to grow and potentially grow the number of games even further in the future."
Rest of read:
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/4635...n-oconnell
Which club would the NFL burden with the job? It turned out to be the Minnesota Vikings, whom the league scheduled for a game in Ireland during Week 4 and England in Week 5.
Immediately, Vikings staffers began hearing from their friends around the league.
"A lot of people reached out and said, 'What did you guys do to the NFL to get this?'" said Vikings vice president of player health and performance Tyler Williams.
Equipment manager Mike Parson laughed and said: "They said we got screwed."
Although they are the visiting team in both cases, against the Steelers in Dublin and the Browns in London, the team's market research and branding efforts have indicated strong local support in both cities. Keisha Wyatt, the Vikings' director of international marketing, estimated that 40% of the crowd at Dublin's Croke Park and up to 60% at London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be Vikings fans.
Those proportions would effectively neutralize two of the nine road games the Vikings otherwise would have played in 2025. And because they are scheduled in consecutive weeks, the Vikings will remain overseas, making only a 90-minute flight from Dublin to London in between. Owners Zygi and Mark Wilf have aggressively pursued international outreach, having claimed jurisdiction in the United Kingdom as an original participant in the NFL's Global Markets Program, and they eagerly accepted when the league proposed the possibility during the schedule-making process.
"We're club first, but we are also very mindful of making sure the league and the sport grows," Mark Wilf said. "The more the business grows, the more the fandom grows, and it just makes it exciting for everyone. ... We've spent a lot of time with Tyler [Williams] and the crew making sure our players will be ready. Our players are up to it."
The Jacksonville Jaguars have played consecutive games in London, but the NFL wanted to test out a European road trip -- and found a willing partner in the Vikings.
"They're certainly a club that has leaned into the international opportunity," said Peter O'Reilly, the NFL's executive vice president of club business, international and league events. "And we do learn things. We learn things together with the clubs in terms of the operational components, ensuring that we can continue to get better in terms of the team operations, the experience overall, and in this case, moving between two countries.
"We're really confident in the plan that we have in place and the work that we've done with the Vikings leading up to it, but it's really about learning as we continue to grow and potentially grow the number of games even further in the future."
Rest of read:
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/4635...n-oconnell
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