The Miami Dolphins will play in Spain’s first-ever regular-season NFL game in 2025 as announced by the league on Jan. 17. The international game will be held at the famous Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, the turf of the Real Madrid soccer team, with the Dolphins listed as the “home” team.
NFL Fans Overjoyed at Miami Dolphins’ International Game Venue
The league’s popularity in Europe has been growing, with the UK and Germany already hosting games. London has held annual NFL games for a while, and Germany is becoming a consistent host of games in Munich, Frankfurt, and a new matchup in Berlin next season, according to NFL.com.
Just in: The #Dolphins are headed to Madrid next season as part of the NFL’s international series. It’ll be the league’s first-ever game in the city, with Miami listed as the “home” team.
Opponent will be announced in the offseason. pic.twitter.com/6ZbBKODwEX
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 17, 2025
Now Spain and Madrid are joining in, which can lead to the NFL reaching more international fans.
With the venue’s reveal, enthusiasts on X expressed their elation.
“Great for NFL fans in Europe 🔥👀,” a fan said.
“This is super cool,” another fan wrote.
In 2025, the NFL can schedule up to eight regular-season games outside the United States. Until now, apart from the Madrid game, it’s been confirmed that there will be two contests in London at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, and Jacksonville Jaguars will all play in London. The former two will play at Tottenham, while the Jaguars will play at Wembley Stadium.
Also, the Indianapolis Colts will play in Berlin for their first-ever regular-season game there, to be held at the Olympic Stadium, which has hosted league games before. Comparatively, only five international games were played in 2024, which should answer the following fan’s question:
“How many games outside the US will there be next year? Is there more than last year?”
The barrage of praise for the venue continued.
“Absolutely insane man!” a fan wrote.
“It takes several weeks for dolphins to swim from Miami to Madrid. This seems wildly unfair,” a fan joked.
Meanwhile, some wondered who the Dolphins will play against.
“It will be against one of these teams, these are the teams on their home schedule in 2025. Bills, Patriots, Jets, Ravens, Bengals, Saints, Buccaneers, Chargers, Commanders,” a fan noted.
Details like the Dolphins’ opponent, game date, and kickoff time will be announced later when the full 2025 NFL schedule is released. With this, Spain becomes the sixth country to host an NFL game, after Mexico, Canada, the UK, Germany, and Brazil.
