The NFL's popularity is growing outside of the United States and Kansas City Chiefs president Mark Donovan wants the Kansas City Chiefs to be a huge part of that. According to Sam McDowell of The Kansas City Star, the Chiefs desperately want to be the team playing the Atlanta Falcons in Spain later this year.
Mark Donovan spoke with The Star about how aggressive the team is being when it comes to that scheduled game in Spain.
“We’ve been very open and aggressive with the league — as we have been since the beginning — that we want to play in Spain this year,” Chiefs team president Mark Donovan told The Star. “We think it would be a great market, game (and) matchup.”
Chiefs making bold move to claim Spain game and grow global brand
The NFL had its first game in Spain a season ago, a midseason match-up between the Commanders and Dolphins that saw Miami win the game in overtime. McDowell's article notes that the Spain game will likely take place in November again, as it did last season, and mentioned how the midseason international games tend to not be primetime affairs, unlike the ones earlier in the year.
With the Chiefs likely being in consideration for the holiday match-ups again in 2026, would the NFL want to risk scheduling them for an international game, especially one that's not in primetime? We'll have to see.
As for the Chiefs' international game history, they've been a big part of growing the game outside of the States, especially in recent years. During the Patrick Mahomes era, the Chiefs have played in Mexico, Germany, and Brazil and earlier in the Andy Reid era, they played in London.
Clearly, the Chiefs brass likes seeing their team play across the pond and they're offering the team up for the Spain game. Will the NFL grant them that wish? Let's see how everything plays out but if they agree, then get those passports ready, Chiefs fans.