OFFICIAL: The Detroit Lions will be the designated home team for the NFL’s 2026 Munich game the team announced at 1pm UK time on Tuesday.
It made too much sense not to happen. The Lions will play in their first International Series Game since 2015. The game will be played at Allianz Arena, home of Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich. The opponent, date and kick-off time are expected to be announced in May during the schedule release. However, based on previous games in Germany; the 8th of November at 2:30pm UK time seems likely.
The Lions were awarded Germany as a Home Marketing Area in 2024, making significant investment in to the country since. They also have fluent German-speaking WR Amon-Ra St. Brown on the roster. This has built the franchise quite the following in Germany already, making it the perfect opportunity to expand their global footprint.
Despite seeing plenty of on-field success in recent years, the Lions haven’t left US soil since 2015. Before this year, they and the Cowboys (2014) were the 2 teams with the longest International Game drought. With the NFL’s mandated 1 home game every 8 years, and the NFC’s 9 home games this year – it was more of a ‘where’ than a ‘when’ question.
International Games for the Lions
So far, they have only played 2 games (2014 & 2015) internationally. Both of which were in London. The first time round was a 22-21 thriller vs. the Falcons. They overcame a 21-0 halftime deficit and won with a walk off Matt Prater Field Goal. Initially, Prater missed from 48 yards, but a delay of game penalty called it back – and the Kicker doesn’t miss twice. The second time around, was a 45-10 routing by the Chiefs.
Alas, this is a much different franchise than the one that visited over a decade ago. Led by Dan Campbell, they’ve won 2 of the last 3 NFC North titles, making the 2024 NFC Championship game in the process. Should a couple of plays have gone their way, they could’ve even been in the Super Bowl. German fans – and those who will travel from across Europe – can expect a Lions team that’s competing for division titles, and conference championships.
The NFL in Germany
This will be the 6th International Game played in Germany since 2022, and the third in Munich. Games in Germany don’t have a history of being high-scoring, but they’re often close affairs that go down to the wire. All 5 of the previous games have been 1 score games. The last 2 have even gone to Overtime.
2022: Seahawks 16-21 Buccaneers — Munich
2023: Dolphins 14-21 Chiefs — Frankfurt
2023: Colts 10-6 Patriots — Frankfurt
2024: Giants 17-20 Panther (OT) — Munich
2025: Falcons 25-21 Colts (OT) — Berlin
It may (or may not) be worth noting that the Michigan Wolverines – whose campus is roughly 45m from Detroit – were origiinally billed to open their 2026 season in Frankfurt. Despite that dream being cut short, one team in blue from Michigan is going to play in Germany this year. Although we could’ve had two.
Potential Opponents
With the Lions playing 9 home games this year, possible opponents include:
Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. New York Giants, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans
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