Pittsburgh Steelers To Face Minnesota Vikings in Dublin
The NFL today announced the dates, times and opponents for the 2025 International Series fixtures, and it has now been officially confirmed that the Pittsburgh Steelers will host the Minnesota Vikings in Dublin on Sunday September 28th, with kickoff slated for 2.30pm Irish time.
It had been rumoured in the week leading up to the schedule release that the Steelers would face the Vikings, in what will be a rematch of their 2013 Wembley Stadium encounter. Pittsburgh came out on the wrong end of that one, and will be keen to even the score when they come to town later this year.
Social media was rife with leaks in the build up to the announcement, with the international fixtures being all but confirmed by several outlets.
The week 4 tilt will be the first of 6 global games to take place on this side of the Atlantic in 2025, and precedes games in London, Berlin and for the first time ever, Madrid.
Minnesota will then stay on to play Cleveland the following week in London, with the Jets, Broncos, Jaguars and Rams rounding out the rest of the UK slate. Miami will host Washington in Madrid, while Indianapolis will face Atlanta.
“We’re thrilled to welcome the Minnesota Vikings to Ireland this September for the first-ever NFL Dublin game at Croke Park,” said General Manager of NFL U.K. & Ireland Henry Hodgson. “Alongside the Pittsburgh Steelers, we can’t wait to bring world-class football to Dublin and make history together with passionate NFL fans in Ireland and those visiting from across the globe.”
“I welcome the news that the Minnesota Vikings have been chosen to play the Pittsburgh Steelers in our first-ever National Football League fixture in Dublin,” said Minister for Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport Patrick O’Donovan. “This event provides for a huge boost to tourism and hospitality in Ireland and indeed creates a great atmosphere in Dublin for visitors and locals alike. We look forward to welcoming the teams and supporters to Croke Park and to Dublin and beyond, as they take the opportunity to explore the many attractions that Ireland has to offer.”
The NFL is rapidly expanding its global footprint and fanbase, with plans to eventually play 16 games internationally each season. Pittsburgh’s franchise also has marketing rights to Germany, so we can certainly expect them to play a game there in the near future.
And with their strong ties to Ireland we can also certainly expect to see them back on the Emerald Isle at some point as well.
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