The Texans and Raiders will play on November 21 in Mexico City, and the NFL says there’s strong interest from local fans.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, 100,000 people have already registered to buy up to four tickets each to the game. That would indicate that the game could top 100,000 fans at Estadio Azteca, just as the previous NFL game there, in 2005, did.
In the United States, football couldn’t be much more popular than it already is, and so as the NFL tries to continue growing, it is increasingly turning to foreign markets. This year, for the first time, four games will be played outside the United States, with three games in London in addition to the Texans-Raiders game in Mexico City.
Whether the NFL can ever become nearly as popular outside the United States as it is inside remains to be seen. But there’s little doubt that the league can sell out big stadiums in big cities abroad.
