On Friday, the NFL made it official, announcing the Pittsburgh Steelers would be playing in the first ever NFL regular season game in Ireland next season. The Steelers have a history with Ireland with the Rooney family being Irish and the late Dan Rooney being appointed as a United States ambassador to Ireland from 2009-2012.
The Steelers gained marketing rights to Ireland and Northern Ireland back in 2023 through the NFL’s Global Market Program which allows teams to host events, sell merchandise, and participate in corporate sponsorships. Now, the Steelers have achieved their goal in playing a game on the Emerald Island.
Daniel Martin Rooney, Pittsburgh Director of Business Development and Strategy, and likely future team president, sat down with The Irish Steelers Podcast and discussed what he wants the legacy of Pittsburgh’s first game in Ireland to be.
“We said from the start, the Steelers want to be Ireland’s NFL team,” said Rooney. “And that’s through real connection, that’s through my family’s ties back to the back to the island…We hope this game only furthers our connection with the Irish people, and we’re excited to get Pittsburgh on the global map. This is big for our hometown of Pittsburgh as well to play a game internationally and put a big spotlight on our hometown, which we love so much. So just continuing to further the connection between Pittsburgh and Ireland, the Steelers and Ireland, and the NFL and Ireland. The game is going to be a great launching pad for that.”
The Steelers have a huge fanbase and are looking to grow it globally as well. For the global fanbase, Pittsburgh has only played one regular season game outside of the country, a 34-27 loss to the Minnesota Vikings at Wembley Stadium in London, England in September 2013.
However, Pittsburgh has played internationally in the preseason before. The Steelers have traveled to Montreal, Canada (1969, 1990), Barcelona, Spain (1993), Tokyo, Japan (1996), Dublin, Ireland (1997), Mexico City, Mexico (2000), and Toronto, Canada (1960, 2008) as part of interleague games, exhibition games, the American Bowl an NFL initiative from 1986-2005 and the Bills Toronto Series.
With football growing internationally, Pittsburgh is looking to make their mark and grow their fanbase in other countries. The Steelers have a large fanbase in Mexico, but haven’t made a huge dent into the European market yet. This is in part due to the fact they simply haven’t played in Europe in games that matter much, unlike other teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots.
As Rooney said, the hope is Pittsburgh’s first game in Europe as the “home” team where they have been marketing themselves for a few seasons now will grow their fanbase. Ireland (and Northern Ireland) are also joined by Germany as another European country that Pittsburgh has as part of their Global Markets Program so it would not be surprising if Pittsburgh markets their Ireland game heavy in Germany as well.
As of now, when and who Pittsburgh will be playing in Ireland next season is undecided. Whoever it will be though, has to expect heavy Steelers support as Pittsburgh gears up to play their first international game since 2013 in a country near and dear to the Rooney family’s hearts.
