Eintracht Frankfurt 'would love to have the Eagles' the next time the NFL goes to Germany

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Frankfurt hosted two NFL games in 2023, adding to the city's long history of embracing American football.

Two years ago, Frankfurt became the second city in Germany and the third across Europe to host regular-season NFL games. The soccer team that runs the stadium there hopes it's not too long before the next time.

It's not just to make a few extra Euros. Frankfurt's international population and proximity to U.S. military bases in Germany have made American football unusually popular there for a long time. If you remember NFL Europe and the World League of American Football, you might remember that the Frankfurt Galaxy often drew well over 30,000 fans a season in the 1990s and 2000s.

Munich has the more glamorous stadium, and Berlin -- where the Indianapolis Colts will play the Atlanta Falcons in November -- has the biggest city cachet. But Eintracht Frankfurt CEO Axel Hellman thinks he's got a great fit, and he knows which team he wants to visit next.

"We would love to have the Eagles in Frankfurt," Hellman told The Inquirer during the club's visit for Saturday's exhibition friendly against the Union. On Thursday, he was part of an Eintracht delegation that went to Eagles training camp and met with team president Don Smolenski.

"We have the Eagle as a logo, but we also have very good personal relationship to people working there," Hellmann said. "Of course, we want to have NFL back in Frankfurt if possible. We offered everything [about] what we can do."

" READ MORE: Eintracht Frankfurt hopes to return Germany to being the top destination for young American soccer players

Because the NFL season overlaps with Germany's soccer season, Eintracht would have to arrange its schedule to accommodate American football games -- and resod the field afterward to have the right grass surface for soccer. It didn't go so well last time, with the grass that went in after two NFL games in late 2023 causing trouble through the next summer's European Championship.

Lessons have surely been learned from that, though, and the commercial allure can take care of the rest.

"We can activate very much the NFL football community in Frankfurt," Hellmann said. "Munich is also a strong place to go, but in Frankfurt, I think we activate most. We have a long tradition. In the 90s, 45,000 spectators in our stadium -- in those days, more than the Bundesliga had."

Hellmann also noted a conversation he had with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell during the 2023 series, when the Kansas City Chiefs played the Miami Dolphins and the Colts played the New England Patriots on back-to-back weekends.

" READ MORE: How the Eagles' grounds crew made the Linc's grass hold up during the Club World Cup

"I was sitting next to Roger Goodell, and we were discussing the natures of the clubs," he said. "I told him that we have a big ultra scene, a big fan scene; that we went to Barcelona with 30,000 fans [in the Champions League in 2022]. He noticed that too, and he said, 'Well, you know the team that fits you are the Eagles, because they have rough fans, too.'"

Some fans might jump on Hellmann's use of the word -- then again, some Eagles fans will take it as a compliment. He meant it as the latter, and it wasn't the only one of his words that need a little translation. Ultra refers to a soccer team's hardcore fan group, such as the Union's Keystone State Ultras and the longer-running Sons of Ben supporters' club.

This year, the NFL will play three games in London and one each in São Paulo, Brazil; Dublin, Ireland; Madrid, Spain; and Berlin. The latter three will be first-time regular season hosts.

As for next year, the NFL has only set one of its 2026 international destinations: Melbourne, Australia. But now it isn't just the NFL looking abroad, as the University of Michigan is in talks to play its 2026 season opener against Western Michigan in Frankfurt.