More than a decade after the late Dan Rooney’s tenure as U.S. Ambassador to Ireland, the Pittsburgh Steelers were bestowed the ability to grow American football — and their own brand — there.
The Steelers have been awarded international marketing rights in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, the NFL announced Tuesday. This is in addition to the Mexico market that the league announced last year would belong (in part) to the Steelers.
The Steelers will share Ireland with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“We are excited to have been granted the rights to engage more deeply with our fans in Ireland,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a prepared statement. “My family has deep roots throughout Ireland and being able to connect with our fans across the Island is something special to our organization. My father (Dan) did so much in Ireland during his lifetime, first as one of the founders of the Ireland Funds, then as ambassador. We look forward to growing our fan base and the love of American football in the years to come.”
The Pittsburgh Steelers family has grown by one. Welcome to Ireland ???????????? https://t.co/PZBCjEZKeF
— Steelers Ireland (@SteelersIreland) May 23, 2023
The divvying up of select international markets is part of what the NFL has dubbed its Global Markets Program. The program grants NFL clubs access to international markets for marketing, fan engagement and commercialization activations as part of a longterm strategic effort to enable clubs to build their brands globally while driving NFL fan growth beyond the U.S.
The Steelers’ connections to Ireland are obvious in that their founding family traces its heritage there, and former team president and chairman Dan Rooney was appointed ambassador to the nation by then-President Barack Obama in 2009. He served 2½ years in that role.
It’s been fantastic today to recall the 1997 game.
Finally, here’s a video from @thomasniblock asking Dan Rooney in 2012 about a future NFL game in Ireland.
Give this a ❤️ if you’d like to see an NFL game on Irish soil soon.
— The Irish NFL Show (@IreNFL) July 27, 2021
In 1997, the Steelers played a preseason game in Dublin. They are expected to play a regular-season game in Mexico City in the coming years, likely as soon as next season.
Also announced Tuesday were that the New Orleans Saints were granted rights to France and that the Atlanta Falcons would join three holdovers in holding marketing rights in Germany.
The NFL’s Global Markets Program now includes 21 teams across 14 international markets. The term of the rights spans a minimum of five years, during which a club has the rights to pursue activities in that international market that are consistent with what they can do in their home market.
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