NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has stated there will be no season game in Dublin this year.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings met in the first NFL regular season fixture in Croke Park last September, but there is no return planned for 2026.

“We did have a wonderful time and I think both clubs had a great time and our fans had a spectacular time,” said Goodell. “One of the things about that game that stands out to me is that it felt like the entire island was in support of this.

“That game had more people come from the States for an international game than any game in our history of the international series, and I think that’s a tribute to Ireland.

“We will be back, I would guess that will we be back in a few years. We’ve got to work with the officials on that and when that happens, but I would expect that to happen and that’s our intention.”

The international games scheduled for 2026 are three in London, one in Madrid, Munich and Rio de Janeiro as well as the first fixtures for Paris and Melbourne.| Meanwhile, Jim McGuinness has not ruled out Ballybofey’s MacCumhaill Park staging their Ulster SFC quarter-final against Down in April.

The venue is currently close for pitch reconstruction and floodlights installation. Letterkenny’s O’Donnell Park is the alternative but McGuinness has said: “We are definitely not closing the door on MacCumhaill Park yet.

“I think that potentially could be an option for us for the championship as well. So we’ll just wait to see how the pitch goes and wait to see how it develops over the next number of months.” 

Elsewhere, Derry have become the 21st county to sell naming rights to their principal stadium in a multi-year deal with Find Insurance. Celtic Park as well as their centre of excellence in Owenbeg outside Dungiven will carry the name of the business insurance broker.

Also on Wednesday, Centra were announced as the new sponsors of the upcoming National Camogie Leagues. The convenience store chain, who are also associate backers of the All-Ireland senior hurling championship, have signed a four-year contract with The Camogie Association.

Kerry-based Fexco have also been named as the partners to the Croke Park Stadium Assistant, which was recently piloted at the All-Ireland senior club finals and Dublin-Donegal and Meath-Derry games in GAA HQ.

Fexco’s smart assistant platform features interactive, real-time information on matters such as crowd flow to patrons when they are in Croke Park.