The globalization of the NFL

By Alex Guzman | Thursday, April 07, 2005 | ( 0 )

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I grew up watching preseason NFL games on ESPN from Japan and Mexico, as well as the World Football League based in Europe. While none of these events seemed genuinely interesting to me or the locals, I am extremely happy to hear the league has allowed Mexico to host a regular season game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Arizona Cardinals.

Pundits have said this "home" game for the Cardinals will benefit attendance figures, since Arizona rarely sells out Sun Devil Stadium but Azteca Stadium packs over 100,000 fans. I'm sure this game will be a success commercially and aesthetically. Both teams should be playing their asses off to gain a foothold on this burgeoning market.

The National Football League should wise up and think about expanding to Brazil and Argentina. These other Western Hemisphere powers offer the greatest potential for quick growth. They also have a substantial base of ardent fans with lots of disposable income.

The possibility exists for American football to reach the level of market penetration that basketball has achieved on a global scale. In fact, it might even approach or surpass the worldwide popularity of soccer one day in the not-so distant future.

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