MUNICH – NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has an answer for German fans wondering about rumors that the league could be heading to its capital city, Berlin: “Believe it.”

The NFL played its first regular-season game in Germany in Munich in 2022, then two games in Frankfurt the following year. Munich is organize Sunday’s game between the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers, the fifth and final game of the season abroad.

“I usually tell people, ‘Don’t believe the rumors.’ In this case, you might say, “Believe it.” We are working on it, but it is not finalized. We really feel like Berlin would be a great addition, so we’re looking at it very carefully. Our people have been working very hard on it,” Goodell said in a question-and-answer session with fans in Munich. “But I want to add that that doesn’t mean we won’t be back in Frankfurt and Munich.”

The German news agency dpa and broadcaster RTL reported on Saturday that the Berlin city government was discussing plans for a game.

Berlin was not one of german cities which initially applied to host regular season games. The three finalists selected in 2021 were Frankfurt, Munich and Düsseldorf, which has not hosted any matches.

Berlin has personal meaning for Goodell. On Saturday he recounted how he was involved in the first NFL exhibition game in Germany in 1990, less than a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, between the Los Angeles Rams and the Kansas City Chiefs at the Olympiastadion or Olympic Stadium in Berlin. .

“It was one of my favorite events,” Goodell said. “The German fans were just fantastic and overwhelming.”

NFL team owners voted in December to authorize the league to host eight international games each season, although Goodell has said he has a long term goal of 16 games per season.

The league hosted its first game in Brazil this season and is heading to Spain for the first time next year with a match in Madrid. London hosted three matches this season.

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