Spain loves fútbol, but do they love OUR football? NFL arrives in Madrid with a mission

After living in Spain for over eight years now in two different major cities, I cannot say that I have met a single Spanish NFL fan. And that’s not surprising. The NFL has never had much of a presence in Spain, and the sport itself is relatively new to the country. I realize my personal experiences aren’t indicative of the overall reality, but typically when I speak to Spanish people about American football, it’s met with confusion on the rules, complaints about all the breaks, and comparisons to the “real” football.

However, the NFL itself claims there are about 11.3 million fans in Spain, with 1.3 million classified as “avid” followers. That’s a serious chunk of people. According to SportsBusiness Journal, those numbers come from the league’s internal research, and even the NFL acknowledges most of those fans are light or casual. That 1.3 million “avid” fans is a pretty significant number, but compared internationally, it’s still modest. For example, according to the same sources, Germany has around 19 million fans, and Brazil clocks in at around 36 million. So while Spain definitely does have an NFL following, it’s very much a work in progress for the league’s global ambitions. And that starts with the game between the Miami Dolphins and Washington Commanders this Sunday.

Why Spain’s NFL fandom feels less intense than other countries

Soccer is very clearly the dominant sport in Spain, but that’s also true of Germany, England, and Brazil. So why does it feel like the NFL is better represented in those countries than in Spain? Well as for Germany, they had a head start by almost every measure. They have the German Football League (GFL) dating back to 1979, a robust semi-pro system with long-established clubs, youth teams, and actual competitive infrastructure. Spain has its own league (LNFA), but the scale and visibility have never come close.

Then came NFL Europe, which effectively turned into a German league by the late 1990s and 2000s. At one point, five of the league’s six teams - Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Cologne, and Düsseldorf (Rhein Fire) - were based in Germany. Local fans had 15+ years of tailgates, broadcasts, merch, and American-style gamedays. Spain never hosted an NFL Europe team.

Another factor was the U.S. military presence in Germany, which exposed local communities to American sports culture for decades. Kids in German cities often grew up near U.S. bases, where American football was visible and normal. Spain didn’t have that same pipeline.

When Munich hosted its first regular-season game in 2022, the ticket demand topped hundreds of thousands. By comparison, the NFL is still relatively new in Spain. There’s interest, but the cultural roots run nowhere near as deep as in Germany, England, or now Brazil.

The NFL’s game plan in Spain

For the NFL, Madrid isn’t just a one-off. The league’s Global Markets Program includes Spain, giving clubs marketing rights and avenues to grow the sport locally. The goal is to do more than just entertain. They want to create a fanbase.

As one NFL executive put it, Spain’s abundant passion for sport, even if mostly for soccer, is an opportunity. And there are early signs. The demand for tickets for the Madrid game reportedly was huge (nearly 700,000 requests sold out within hours), showing that interest for American football as an event is real, even if not every fan will convert into a weekly viewer.

The league is playing the long game, investing in potential rather than just current popularity. Sunday’s game in Madrid might not mean “Spain is now an NFL country.” But it could mean that Spain is on the path. And that hopefully, I can stop explaining the fact that it’s an entirely different sport not meant to be compared to the one-and-only fútbol.

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