Saudi Arabia Wants to Bring the NFL to the Middle East

By: Sean Davis 10/21/25

Saudi Arabia is aggressively pursuing American football, both collegiate and professional (NFL), as its next major sports investment, primarily through the country's $1 trillion Public Investment Fund (PIF) and its subsidiary, SURJ Sports.

Here are the key initiatives and ambitions:

Recent Moves to Bring American Football to the Middle East

• Fanatics Flag Football Classic: A debut event featuring current and former NFL stars like Tom Brady, Saquon Barkley, CeeDee Lamb, Christian McCaffay, and Rob Gronkowski is scheduled to be played in Riyadh on March 21.

• NFL Game Ambition: Following the flag football event, Saudi official Turki Alalshikh publicly stated his hope that Saudi Arabia will be next to host a regular-season NFL game, after Brazil and Britain.

• College Football Ties: North Carolina football GM Michael Lombardi and former Colorado special teams coordinator Trevor Reilly have both traveled to Saudi Arabia on exploratory trips to discuss fundraising and NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) money, often at the request of college football-interested Saudi nationals.

• Bowl Game Consideration: The Holiday Bowl (an ACC–Pac-12 matchup) considered moving its upcoming postseason game to Saudi Arabia.

Next Steps and Context

• NFL Expansion: The NFL is looking to expand its international slate to 16 games per season by the end of the decade.

• Global Markets Program: A logical first step for Saudi Arabia would be entering the NFL's Global Markets Program, which designates certain countries as market territories for NFL clubs. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) became the first Middle Eastern nation to join the program this spring.

• Growing Sports Portfolio: Hosting a major American football event would expand Saudi Arabia's massive existing sports portfolio, which includes the Saudi Pro League (soccer), LIV Golf, Formula One, the 2034 FIFA Men’s World Cup, and WWE.