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The last time Mexico hosted an NFL game was nearly three years ago, when the Arizona Cardinals lost to the San Francisco 49ers in Mexico City.\u00a0(Galo Ca\u00f1as \/ Cuartoscuro)<\/p>\nIf you ever hear the word \u201cfootball\u201d in Mexico, it\u2019s more than likely in reference to \u201cf\u00fatbol\u201d \u2014 or soccer \u2014 and not to the other North American sport, which is instead known simply as \u201cAmericano.\u201d<\/p>\n
Traditionally, the National Football League (NFL) hasn\u2019t merited the same kind of reverence among Mexican fans as it has for those in the United States. But that\u2019s starting to shift in recent years, with the NFL\u2019s increased efforts to reach a Latin American viewership culminating with the recent announcement of Bad Bunny \u2014 the Spanish-speaking pop star from Puerto Rico \u2014 as the Super Bowl\u2019s coveted half-time performer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The last time Mexico hosted an NFL game was nearly three years ago, when the Arizona Cardinals lost to the San Francisco 49ers in Mexico City.\u00a0(Galo Ca\u00f1as \/ Cuartoscuro)<\/p>\n
In fact, Spanish-speaking fans are the NFL\u2019s fastest growing audience, with Mexico ranking as the largest international market for the NFL, with a reported 39.5 million fans (Brazil ranks second, followed by Germany, China and the United Kingdom). The league\u2019s growth across the border is largely due to strategic initiatives meant to engage Latinos \u2014 particularly Mexicans \u2014 through ongoing, creative marketing campaigns rooted in Mexican culture and fandom.<\/p>\n
For starters, the league has played four games in Mexico City<\/a> dating back to 2005, when the first NFL regular season game took place at Estadio Azteca. The 2005 game was the first ever NFL game played outside of the U.S., and drew a record-breaking 103,467 fanatics.\u00a0<\/p>\n Surprisingly, the earliest records of the NFL\u2019s attempts to play in Mexico go much further back to 1968<\/a> \u2014 for a pre-season clash that was scheduled between the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions that actually never came to be. In 2026, the NFL has declared they will return to Mexico City after the FIFA World Cup in 2026.<\/p>\n The NFL\u2019s fan engagement in Mexico hasn\u2019t only been limited to playing games on the field, though. Earlier this year, the league partnered with six Kentucky Fried Chicken locations throughout the nation to offer an NFL-themed dining experience (I visited the San Francisco 49ers site in the suburbs of Mexico City<\/a>; many enthusiastic fans flocked there to take selfies with the museum-like memorabilia, which included a gigantic team helmet and a completely decorated building that was visible from the adjacent freeway).\u00a0<\/p>\n Most recently, \u201cHasta La Muerte\u201d \u2014 the NFL\u2019s latest collaboration with Mexican fans and artists \u2014 once again highlighted the league\u2019s interest in their neighbors to the south. The colorful and festive series included limited-edition clothing and merchandise (created by Mexican designer, Atrapaluz<\/a>), custom NFL altars, catrinas, and a massive party in Mexico City hosted by NFL Me\u0301xico. The campaign involved 10 NFL teams \u2014 the Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, Pittsburgh Steelers, and San Francisco 49ers \u2014 each with their own legacy of Latino fandom.\u00a0<\/p>\n The designs feature classic Dia de Muertos elements like cempasuchil petals, bright colors, papel picado, and calaveras. The graphic print style was inspired by Mexican illustrator Jos\u00e9 Guadalupe Posada, and plays on the idea of fandom as a tree of interconnected family members.<\/p>\n The work was led by an all-Mexican team \u2014 most notably, the designer himself, Atrapaluz<\/a>, who was tasked with designing the artistic vision for 59 original items. Raised in the state of Mexico, he notes that the NFL\u2019s popularity has grown signficantly in his lifetime, and that it is a way for families to connect.<\/p>\n \u201cThe idea was to highlight how in a family-centered country like Mexico, the NFL and its teams are passed down from generation to generation, becoming a symbol of identity for many families, a tradition for getting together and a way to keep our loved ones alive when they\u2019re gone,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n It was all on display at a special event that took place in October at Fronton Bucarelli in Colonia Juarez for an estimated 2,000 attendees, including a range of influencers and local figures like Caro Diaz<\/a>, Brayan Skabeche<\/a> and Karen Tapia<\/a>. Anna Laura Ramirez<\/a> was one of the many Mexican NFL fans who attended the event. Ramirez flew into CDMX from Veracruz, and has been a fan of the Cardinals because of her father\u2019s fandom of the team.The Arizona franchise (who are coincidentally also Atrapaluz\u2019s favorite team) became the first NFL team to play a regular season game in Mexico in 2005, making them a popular choice among today\u2019s Mexican fans.<\/p>\n Each of the ten NFL teams in attendance collaborated with fans to make unique ofrendas, where fans could add photos of family members, friends, and even former players who are no longer living.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough a lot of brands are now creating products around D\u00eda de Muertos, we tried our best to stay true to our reasons for making this,\u201d says Atrapaluz. \u201cTo represent our tradition in the purest and most sincere and respectful way possible, [to share] our stories and give NFL fans in Mexico a way to celebrate and remember their loved ones who loved the game and created a legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n The NFL shows no signs of switching up their playbook. If anything, they\u2019ve continually increased their offensive surge into the Latin American market, with more and more games being hosted not only in Mexico, but in Brazil. They\u2019re now even blitzing Spanish-speaking audiences outside of the American continents, too, with a 2025 regular season game between the Dolphins and Washington Commanders scheduled for Santiago Bernab\u00e9u Stadium in Madrid, Spain on November 16.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_0783.jpg\")
By embracing Mexican culture, the NFL hopes it will attract more fans to the game. (David Villavicencio)<\/p>\n