49ers ‘likely' will give up 2026 home game to play internationally, per Jed York
49ers ‘likely' will give up 2026 home game to play internationally, per Jed York originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The NFL announced Monday that there will be nine international games in 2026, and the 49ers could be in one of those games.
San Francisco principal owner Jed York, speaking to Imagen Sports, said Monday that his team will likely be playing one game abroad and has one favored location.
“For us, Mexico is one of our markets,” York said. “We will most likely give up a home game this season to play abroad, and Mexico is always number one on my list.”
If San Francisco were to play abroad in 2026, it would be their fifth regular-season game played internationally. They are 3-1 in such games.
Their first international appearance was played at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City against the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 2, 2005, in which the 49ers lost 31-14. It was the first regular-season NFL game to be played outside of the United States.
San Francisco’s most recent international game also was played against the Cardinals in Mexico City, in which the 49ers won 38-10.
The 49ers’ two other regular-season games played abroad were at Wembley Stadium in London in 2010 and 2013 against the Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars, respectively. San Francisco won both matchups.
As a part of Monday’s announcement, The NFL said that there will be one game played in Mexico City in each of the next three seasons.
There will be nine total games as a part of the NFL International Series in 2026: three in London, one in Rio De Janeiro, one in Munich, one in Madrid, one in Mexico City, one in Melbourne and one in Paris. The games played in Melbourne and Paris will be the first regular-season games in both cities.
The nine international games to be played would be the most in a single NFL season. Last season, there were seven international regular-season games.