San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams to play in NFL's first game in Australia
Two NFC West rivals, the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams, will play in the NFL's first regular season game in Australia later this year.
The league announced Thursday that the two teams will face off at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne, the nation's second most-populous city after Sydney.
"This is a terrific opportunity to continue to support the league in its mission to grow the game of football," 49ers CEO Al Guido said in a statement. "We look forward to working with the NFL to benefit local Australian communities through sport."
Charlotte Offord, general manager of NFL Australia and New Zealand said, "The 49ers are a popular franchise within the Australian market, and this rivalry game solidifies what we know is going to be an incredible NFL experience for our fans down under."
Meanwhile, the Rams have marketing rights to Australia, as part of the league's Global Market Program.
"As we make history with the NFL and bring the first regular season game to Australia, we are pleased to take our annual match-up against our NFC West rival San Francisco 49ers to the MCG," said Kevin Demoff, president of the Rams. "Since we first secured marketing rights to the country in 2021 and more recently since the announcement of this game last year, we have seen tremendous excitement for our team from fans both in Australia and also across the world."
The Australia game is one of a record nine international games scheduled to take place across four continents in the upcoming 2026 season. Along with the league's annual games in London, matchups will also take place in Madrid, Spain; Mexico City, Mexico; Munich, Germany; Paris, France and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, with a capacity of about 100,000. While perhaps most famously known for cricket, the stadium is also known for Australian rules football and has hosted the 1956 Summer Olympics.
A date and kickoff time for the Australia game has not been announced. The NFL typically releases schedules for the upcoming season in May.
Ticket information for the game will be released at a later date, the league said.