Sydney’s Accor Stadium joins race to host an NFL game

This is the image which shows just how serious NSW is about snatching a regular-season NFL game as soon as next year - stealing Melbourne’s thunder in the process.

Sydney could host an NFL game as soon as next year as the harbour city goes all out to steal Melbourne’s thunder and secure a piece of the world’s biggest sporting league.

An image obtained by The Sunday Telegraph shows Accor Stadium’s big screens welcoming the NFL as part of its pitch process to host a game as early as late next year.

Government and other high level officials confirmed Sydney’s interest in hosting an NFL fixture within the next two years with NSW Premier Chris Minns already meeting with NFL officials.

The push comes after NFL clubs approved a plan to play up to eight matches a season from 2025.

An NFL spokesperson confirmed their plans to play a season proper fixture in Australia.

“Australia, along with many other countries and markets, is being considered as a future host market,” the spokesperson said.

The Accor Stadium big screen lights up with NFL branding.

“We are in early exploration stages of that feasibility process”

It is understood NFL officials have been visiting stadiums in Australia in recent months as they determine whether playing a game is logistically possible.

Two weeks ago, Brett Gosper - head of Europe and Asia-Pacific for the National Football League - attended South Sydney’s game against the Melbourne Storm on Thursday night at Accor Stadium.

He was then seen at the Sydney Swans game against Collingwood at the SCG the following night.

Sources spoken to by The Sunday Telegraph insist that Gosper, an Australian whose father Kevan Gosper was Olympics boss Kevan Gosper, attended the games as a guest of the stadium rather than in an official capacity with the NFL.

However, it is understood the NSW government is locked in a battle with its state rivals to secure an NFL game, with Sydney viewed as more suited to hosting games in rectangular stadiums than Melbourne.

The NRL is also expected to help in bringing a match to Australia, having made headways with the NFL as part of this year’s season launch in Las Vegas.

Ideally, the NFL would bring out Aussie superstar Jordan Mailata’s Philadelphia Eagles team, while the Los Angeles Rams have been assigned Australia as its “international marketing area”.

Australia’s Jordan Mailata (R) plays for the Philadelphia Eagles. Picture: Getty Images

Any plan to play a game or games at Accor Stadium would need to be done with the NRL season in mind.

The NRL uses Accor Stadium for finals games and the grand final, which would make it off limits until the start of October.

However, the NFL has previously confirmed that Australia was on its radar.

Peter O’Reilly - the NFL’s head of international affairs - confirmed as much at the NFL’s spring meetings, soon after they confirmed that an NFL Academy would open in September on the Gold Coast in Australia.

“Australia is among a set, and it’s not a small set of markets, that we’re looking at,” O’Reilly said in May.

The NFL, which generated revenue of $27 billion last year, has been expanding its global tentacles in recent years after owners voted to take eight games into international markets.

Philadelphia will help launch the season against the Green Bay Packers on September 6 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Games will also be played in the England, Mexico, Spain and Germany.

Originally published as Sydney’s Accor Stadium joins race to host an NFL game