Sunny Mehta, NFL Marketing Strategist, discusses the two NFL events that have taken place in Germany so far in an exclusive interview for Flashscore. He also explains how the “Magic Moment Country Roads” was born and why Vienna is a very interesting location to host an international match.
For many years, the National Football League (NFL) hosts international matches in London, not only at Wembley Stadium, but also at the state-of-the-art Arena Tottenham. In 2022, the match between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their superstar Tom Brady to Seattle Seahawks attracted worldwide attention when the 70,000 enthusiastic fans at the Allianz Arena in Munich sang along to “Country Roads” and gave a very warm image of the whole, which is rarely the case in European football stadiums. In 2023, an international match followed in Frankfurt.
Driven by the positive developments of the last five to ten years, the NFL also played for the first time in the Brazilian market (São Paulo) in September 2024. Reason enough to speak with Sunny Mehtawho works in the “International Marketing Strategy & Fan Development” department of the NFLthe evolution and objectives of NFL International Series in an interview with Flashscore Austriaas well as to highlight the upcoming match in Munich.
American football in Western Europe
Asked about the main lessons to be learned from the matches in Germany (Munich 2022 and Frankfurt 2023), Sunny Mehta above all evokes the great understanding of German fans for American football.
“I think, and this is my personal opinion, that we have learned that Germany and the region love American football in a very unique and authentic way. They love the sport and understand it in a very American.
They know when to exult – they not only exult when they make a shot, but also depending on the situation during the match. I think it’s fundamental to the growth of the sport because there’s advanced learning and appreciation of the game.”
This understanding of American football was not yet fully present in São Paulo in September 2024, particularly because it was the very first game of the NFL in Brazil. According to Mehta, cultural differences between Europe and South America also play a role.
“The culture is very different – just as noisy, but very different. At the matches in Munich and Frankfurt you see a lot of people, they are drinking beer, chatting and enjoying the match. In Brazil I was more the feeling of having a new experience. It was actually the first time. People who had been there for 15 or 20 years loved the game and were just excited about this new experience, whereas Germany loves the NFL.
They had the European Football League and they had NFL Europe – they had opportunities to organically grow their love of the game and celebrate it. In Brazil, everything was new. That’s why the singer had to be a global halftime superstar, performing in her home country. It was not only the first moment for the NFL, but also the first for sports. So we feel the cultural differences – the music, the dance, but also the weather.”
Country Roads
While in São Paulo, the NFL relied on the singer Anitta, very popular in Brazil, to provide the halftime show, in Munich 2022 and a year later in Frankfurt, it was the fans themselves who ensured a strong musical moment. In the style of a giant choir, 70,000 enthusiastic fans sang along Country Roads arm in arm. A magical moment that Sunny Mehta will not soon forget. He explained to Flashscore how this magical moment was possible.
“It’s always about listening. The reason ‘Country Roads’ was played was because a staff member who was walking around the stadium before the game heard people singing that song. She called the team to presentation and said, “Hey, you should play it because people are singing it even now.” Our people don’t know all the cultural details of our markets. what people like, what they love about our sport and how they made it their own.”
If you follow the NFL via the NFL Game Pass, you will have noticed that the NFL also uses “country roads” scenes to promote different products. The marketing strategist confirms the sophistication of this advertising message: “We are advertising it because it was such an organic and authentic moment”.
But NFL headquarters does not want to rest on its laurels, on the contrary, it wants to create other magical moments. How to achieve this?
“It’s very simple – you have to listen to people. In every market, whatever it is, we use the knowledge we already have. But we also listen very carefully to the people who work in Germany, who know their audience and say, ‘Hey, this is how we are, this is how we like sports. NFL football is also an American cultural asset and often fans are looking for that American experience.’ .
We’re always trying to find the right mix of what makes the NFL great and what international fans love about the NFL, and combine that with regional preferences. Only in this way can we get the most out of our events.”
Results of the last duels between the Giants and the SeahawksFlashscore
The NFL would like to go to Vienna
THE NFL International Series 2024 will end with the match New York Giants – Carolina Panthers on Monday, November 11, 2024. Planning for 2025 is already well underway. The question of whether new markets will be opened soon is not yet set in stone. Sunny Mehta can in any case imagine many new destinations to make the product and the brand NFL even more global. Flag football, which will be Olympic for the first time in 2028 in Los Angeles, plays a key role in this.
“Any market in the world that is interested in this game is also interesting for us. We are ambitious and have plans to go to many different countries – those where we are already present and those where we are not So I think a lot of it will depend on our growth.
For this growth, flag football is fundamental. As the sport grows with young people and flag football will also be Olympic in 2028, we know which countries are clearly already interested in flag football. But many countries that have good programs for young people could also be of interest – for example Australia, France and Italy, which have superb conditions thanks to their infrastructure. Middle Eastern markets are also relevant.”
And what about the idea of a match of the NFL in Vienna? “Vienna should definitely be taken into consideration. It is one of the most important cities in the region”, Mehta gives Austrian football fans hope for a red-white-red NFL atmosphere.
It only remains to be seen whether the city of Vienna is interested in an international match of the NFL.
