Africa has been growing in popularity for leagues like the NBA, and now the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles are poised to enter the continent.
According to the Sports Business Journal, the Eagles will become the first NFL franchise to be granted international commercial rights in Africa.
In an expansion of the NFL’s international marketing program, the Eagles will acquire media, sponsorship and promotional rights in Ghana, as well as Australia and New Zealand.
They will become the 19th team to join the NFL’s burgeoning program.
A year ago, the NFL launched the program by pairing up 18 teams with eight different countries.
The Rams lead the program as the only team with four countries: New Zealand, Australia, China and Mexico.
Now in its second year, the program grants 19 teams access to 30 international home marketing areas within 10 different countries, and each team has five-year terms in their markets.
The Philadelphia Eagles stand out as they are the first team in the program with commercial rights in Africa.
Yet this isn’t the team’s first experience with the continent or Ghana.
Eagles’ cheerleader Ariana Dunbar, who is Operation Smile’s global partnerships coordinator, traveled to Ghana to run a surgical program there.
“It was very emotional,” said Dunbar. “I didn’t fully realize the magnitude of the impact until I was there working with our local counterparts in Ghana. To be able to see all of the work come together and the positive effect it had on the patients and their families resonated deeply.”
The opportunity to reach and interact with fans in Ghana is an exciting opportunity for the Eagles, especially when you consider all of the positive momentum they’ve built over the last year.
They have a young, talented Black quarterback in Jalen Hurts who leads both on the field and off of it.
Last summer, surprised the family of a child with cancer with a $30,000 donation towards the purchase of a new home.
Then this past season with Hurts under center, the Eagles made the playoffs.
And at this past April’s NFL Draft, the team selected future star players and made draft day headlines by trading for star receiver AJ Brown.
While the league doesn’t have any immediate plans to play in Ghana or the other two countries where the Eagles will establish their commercial rights nest, it’s fitting that the team from the City of Brotherly Love will be laying new roots in the Motherland.
