GREEN BAY, Wisc. — The Green Bay Packers will play in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the United Kingdom this year, the team announced Monday.
The Packers currently are the only team that has not played a regular-season game in the NFL International Series.
The NFL began the series in 2007. Last year the league decided that starting with this year's season, up to four teams from the conference whose teams were eligible for a ninth season home game would be designated to play an international game.
Expect the dates, matchups and kick off times later this year, the team said.
The #Packers were the only team that hadn’t played an international regular season game. In the preseason they played at Toronto in 1997, Tokyo in 1998 and Winnipeg in 2019. They will have eight home games and eight road games next season
— Lance Allan (@lanceallan) February 28, 2022
Some fans might not like the news, as we were set to have 9 home games this year but now are down to 8 with the London game being treated as a home game.
Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy said the team will likely host events for fans leading up to the game. He also said playing internationally will be good for the league.
"They really didn't know a lot about NFL football," Murphy said. "I think the league has done a really good job over the years of, obviously the international series of playing games there, but also the the television packages. The people that I've met from the UK club, Packers UK club, really know the team inside and out. They follow us very closely, come over to games at Lambeau Field. So I know they're really excited to be able to host, have the Packers play a game there and I know the league is excited as well. Obviously we're one of the more popular teams across across the league and I think having us finally play a game internationally is gonna be great for the league. The league has started, they call it the international home market areas and we kind of taken our time to study it."
The Packers have played internationally before, most recently against the Raiders in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in 2019.
According to a statement, Murphy said the following:
"The Green Bay Packers are excited to make our international debut during the 2022 season... Our fans in the UK and elsewhere in Europe have been eagerly awaiting an opportunity to see the Packers play in their backyard and that desire becomes a reality this season.
It will be an honor to represent the NFL, as well as Green Bay and the state of Wisconsin, internationally. This will be a great opportunity to introduce Green Bay and our area to an international audience and encourage fans in the UK to visit us in person at Lambeau Field and Northeastern Wisconsin.
We're looking forward to playing in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and reconnecting with their organization after they visited Lambeau Field prior to building their new stadium in 2016."
Murphy also says Green Bay and the Packers are a finalist to host the 2024 NFL Draft.
"We should be hearing at the end of the March and the league meeting. We're one of three finalists for the 2024 draft. It's Detroit, Washington DC and in Green Bay," he shared.
