The top priority for the NFL while implementing its plans to expand globally will be to learn how to sustain growth while keeping Europe as the main focus for the long term. The new focus for the NFL are developing their strategies for new European centers like Malta, and viewing them as digital and commercial access places, as opposed to just hosts of the NFL. This will help them determine how to exploit the opportunities that courses of expansion, as a result of broadcasting stipulations and trade, will offer them in diverse locations. 

The NFL is showing consistent growth in commercial relationships and audience in most of its developing regions for overseas expansion. Europe has now become the primary focus for the NFL’s international commercial and match activities. Recent NFL seasons have seen most games held in major European cities. London and Munich have been hosting the NFL for multiple seasons, as has Frankfurt. Each of the games held in Germany brought in a record number of more than 70,000 spectators, as dictated by the NFL’s own data collection practices.

While looking at Europe as a whole, the NFL has also focused on jurisdictions like Malta, which do not host games, but form a part of the overall rights of the NFL’s digital, licensing and commercial subscription. This has raised more concerns as to how the league will shape and position its business strategies in new markets, where the physical presence and the digital aspects have become unequal. 

The NFL’s global ambitions and why Europe matters

The NFL has been hosting regular-season games in regions all over the world, outside of the US, for over 30 seasons (according to their own national and international statistics). The main focus for the league for these numerous games in Europe is primarily the growth of the United Kingdom and Germany.

Insights from the 2025 NFL International series showed German matches consistently pulling more than 70000 patrons, indicating demand for owning a place in the already existing markets in Europe. Sustained high turnout at events is indicative of demand and the viability of converting attendees to fans in the long-term.

The NFL can benefit from a fully developed broadcasting system in Europe. A mature media market, a set network of sports broadcasters, and high levels of streaming mean the league has the potential to generate a lot more money from Europe than just gate fees.

Why emerging hubs like Malta are entering the conversation

The NFL is unlikely to extend game hosting rights to most of the smaller countries in Europe. Malta’s increased presence in the deal-making may be due to its inclusion of the Digital Services and Regulation hub in the European Union.

Malta has a firm place in the booming online gaming and digital services market. This hosting means the Malta Gaming Authority has authority in Business to Consumer (B2C) digital markets. This means there are a lot of gaming and sports betting companies. Malta has a set promotional scheme that includes no deposit bonuses and mga casino free spins. For sports betting, matches are fixed.

NFL is unlikely to have a large stake in the market, but it can see how people in the digital market in the smaller European countries are engaged with digital products and how they can affect the products NFL has to offer.

Malta’s strategic location between Europe, Africa, and the Middle East

Geographically, Malta is centered in the Mediterranean, bordering Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. This positioning is not optimal for the hosting of large-scale sporting events; however, it is optimal for Malta in terms of distribution and services.

This means Malta is in prime positioning to offer digital and media services as a hub for many of the world’s major media broadcast markets. Intermediary sports business hubs serve many roles, such as licensing and legal mediation, and most importantly for Malta, content distribution and not the hosting of events.

This is important for the NFL as international growth relates most to how quickly content can be distributed to other countries. Thus, geography is an important aspect of commercial strategy, even when it is the end of the line for game venues.

Sports infrastructure and broadcasting potential in smaller European markets

For a sport like the NFL, the primary limit for hosting events in smaller markets is sports infrastructure. As NFL events are predominantly centered in stadiums with an attendance of about 60,000, large, complex trade networks, and the ability to run international broadcasts, the hosting venues for games of the NFL are very self-evident in terms of location.

This encompasses the primary supports for hosting larger events; however, a fully digital infrastructure is needed to support larger events. Evidence suggests that most EU member states’ access to the digital space is nearly 100%. As a result, the NFL can offer hosting larger digital events.

Even if they can’t host games, smaller markets like Malta can incorporate into this digital framework. They can support content distribution, provide digital advertising solutions, and tools for multilingual engagement. Secondary roles become more important when streaming rights take a larger portion of sports revenues.

The role of tax incentives and business-friendly environments

The financial and regulatory environments of a region dictate where sports organizations decide to locate their operations. Competitiveness among European jurisdictions is driven by the regulatory framework, combined with favorable tax policies and administrative streamlining.

With favorable tax policies and a membership in the European Union, Malta has positioned itself as an attractive business center. It has a framework for the digital and financial industries, attracting media, gaming, and online businesses.

International sports media industry reports research shows that rights to international broadcasting have expanded by more than 10% in the last cycles and have been supported by the expansion of streaming and the global licensing of content. This leads to more global partnerships, utilizing the smaller jurisdiction centers.

In 2026, the forward expansion strategy will decrease emphasis on geographic expansion while increasing a focus on network-based growth. Of all the regions, Europe is the most favored in this new system due to the combination of mature media infrastructure, flexible regulatory environments, and high consumer demand.

In this strategy, Smaller hubs will continue operating in the background, mitigating and shaping both the flow of content and the partnerships that build up the audience and engagement with the sport beyond the stadium.