Photo courtesy of San Francisco 49ers.
In honor of Arab American Heritage Month, we will discuss the NFL’s expansion into the UAE. How that expansion works and how it will impact America, including the Arab American population, will be discussed. This is a topic tangential to Arab Americans and only highlights one Arab state.
This article topic in no way is encompassing or representative of many Arab individuals. However, all progress is good progress, and this is something exciting to discuss. Let’s get into it below! Before we do go on, make sure to catch the biggest collaboration between the NFL and the Arab American community ever, here.
The NFL’s Global Focus
First, we will look at the NFL’s Global Market Program. The goal of the program created in 2022 is to create fanbases outside of the United States. Team franchises are referred to as ‘clubs,’ and they can acquire international markets for a minimum of five years. It’s unclear how the inner workings of these contracts work. It’s also unclear why some teams are program participants and not others.
Acquiring a market allows the ‘club’ to market their team, engage with fans, conduct games, and activate commercialization. Basically, you are allowed to engage with the fans in the international market the same way you interact with your fanbase local to your team.
29 ‘clubs’ currently participate in the program in 21 different international markets. Since last year, the Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Chargers, and Washington Commanders have joined in the fun. The NFL is expanding into two new ‘markets’ in Greece and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Some previously engaged teams have grown their market reach as well. You can find markets in South America, Africa, Europe, other countries in North America, and Asia!
An Important Expansion
So far, we haven’t seen any program expansion into the Middle East. We do have some Asian markets—Korea and Japan—but not in the Middle East portion of Asia. According to Peter O’Reilly, the NFL’s executive VP of club business, major events, and international, there is strong interest in the UAE.
There are many fans and interested parties who are excited to welcome the NFL. The league is also considering playing a game in Abu Dhabi but has no concrete plans at this time. The Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, and Washington Commanders have a brand new contract with the UAE. We can’t wait to see what these franchises do!
Impacts of Expansion
Obviously, it’s nearly impossible to know how much of an impact expanding into this brand-new market will have. Ideally, we can share the sport we love with international markets, and in turn, of course, receive compensation from a growing fan base.
Focusing in on the UAE, ideally the integration of the NFL into the Arab state will allow American football to become a part of the sports they enjoy. Particularly over time, it may become a sport that is played there. If we’re lucky enough, we may be able to have an influx of Arab NFL players. We have very few players and coaches of Arab heritage in the league and would benefit from that changing.
Perhaps associating the NFL with the UAE will bring football to a greater Arab population, including the American Arab population. This partnership may interest a wider audience of people who may not have had American football on their radar before. This may even allow the United States to have a more informed and positive perspective of a country they may not have had otherwise. Look at the NFL bringing us together!
Final Thoughts
Unlike other American sports, the NFL is making a concerted effort to go global. In a world where globalization is the name of the game, this shows a marketing prowess that is competent. In order to maintain and grow a league’s audience, finding new fanbases is critical. Venturing into the Middle East is an exciting new prospect for a few NFL franchises this year.
It’s unclear how much the UAE will take to American football, but it would be a beautiful thing if there were a greater integration of American football into Arab communities, which would of course benefit the United States as well. There is something special about the ability to share the sport I love the most with new people. Shared appreciation for a sport can be very unifying. Will we ever see a game in Abu Dhabi? We’ll have to wait and see!
