NFL Teams May Soon Play In Saudi Arabia

The Saudis are taking over American sports and entertainment.

Prince Turki Alalshikh of Saudi Arabia has expressed interest of hosting several NFL games in the near future.

Alalshikh during a recent forum shared the NFL has played games in Europe and Brazil and Saudi Arabia should be next.

Saudi Arabia has the purse to do it too.

In recent years they have held championship boxing matches that in times past would have been fought in Las Vegas.

Bloomberg reported more on the possible move by the NFL:

The NFL’s international ambitions have led it to Europe and South America. The Middle East could be next.

Prince Turki Alalshikh, who oversees Saudi Arabia’s sports and entertainment interests, said he wants to bring the NFL to the country. He pointed to how the league had recently been hosting regular season games in more countries.
“Britain got it; Brazil got it,” Alalshikh said Thursday during the Joy Forum conference in Riyadh. “Hopefully, Saudi Arabia will be next.”

The country’s royal family has made a big push into sports in recent years. In a sign of how far Saudi Arabia has come, Alalshikh referenced that it will be hosting WrestleMania in 2027, marking the event’s first appearance outside North America.

Critics of Saudi Arabia have said its investments in sports are being used to deflect scrutiny from its record on human rights.

The league’s playbook has been to build a fanbase in foreign markets with advertising and flag football. In March, Fanatics Inc., an NFL licensing partner, will host a flag tournament in Saudi Arabia that is scheduled to include retired Hall-of-Famer Tom Brady and current stars such as Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley.

The NFL also has a global markets program, which allows clubs to focus on building international fanbases. Teams now have rights in about 20 countries, spanning Nigeria to Ireland and South Korea. Saudi Arabia isn’t part of this effort, according to the league’s website.

Saudi Arabia wants to host an NFL game. https://t.co/tESFlwY5QQ

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) October 18, 2025

Recently Saudi Arabia hosted a comedy festival that included some of America’s biggest talents.

NBC News reported what comedians attended the festival:

A comedy festival in the capital of Saudi Arabia has become a cultural flash point as major comedians face criticism for accepting seemingly lucrative deals to perform in a country that was virtually impossible to visit until 2019 and a pariah in much of the West for its human rights record.

The Riyadh Comedy Festival, which began Friday and runs through Oct. 9, features a variety of big names such as Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, Aziz Ansari, Pete Davidson, Andrew Schulz, Jo Koy, Bill Burr, Jessica Kirson, Jimmy Carr and Louis C.K.

These comedians, most of them American, are now encountering resistance from some fans, human rights advocates and fellow comics in the industry.