Sports

Actions

Germany anxiously awaits the Bucs arrival for football game

Munich set to host its first-ever regular season game
bucs germany.jpg
Posted at 5:09 PM, Mar 02, 2022
and last updated 2022-03-02 18:20:18-05

MUNICH, Germany — Each NFL team has agreed to play at least one game in Europe every eight years. In 2022, the Buccaneers will play the first-ever regular-season game in Germany. Munich is set to be the host city for a market that's exploding with regard to fan interest.

"TV numbers were going up pretty steeply for the NFL. Merchandising numbers were going up. Meta numbers were going up," said Alexander Steinforth, the NFL's General Manager for Germany. "Everyone really got excited about the German market. When it comes to fan engagement, when it comes to fandom, it’s actually number one or two in the world. So that was the starting point. That was the starting point for bringing a game over to Germany."

Germany hosted preseason games, and they had multiple teams during the run of NFL Europe and the World League. England has hosted NFL regular-season games since 2007, and the fans know those are on a different level.

"Ten, fifteen percent of the people attending games in London were actually traveling over from Germany," Steinforth said. "So, a lot of interest to watch a proper, NFL regular-season game. That’s why everyone is so excited now."

Steinforth, a former soccer executive with Manchester United and the German Bundesliga, said the Bucs have an aggressive marketing plan that will get more German fans involved in-game they used to only get to watch on television.

Related: Bucs to play regular season game in Germany for first time in NFL history

"For the past couple of years, they just followed the sport out of Germany, without having any proper, physical connection to what’s happening over there in the States," he added. "I think it’s a very smart move of the Bucs, making their way over to Germany.

The Buc's opponent and game time will be announced in May. The Carolina Panthers, Kansas City Chiefs, and New England Patriots were the other three franchises awarded marketing rights in Germany.