'No doubt' Dublin will host NFL regular season game

College football games have taken place in Dublin - including Georgia Tech v Florida State at the Aviva Stadium in August

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says there is “no doubt” that Dublin will host a regular season game.

Speaking prior to the Jacksonville Jaguars' match against the Chicago Bears in London on Sunday, Goodell hinted the NFL was keen to play in Ireland with at least one team expressing interest.

"I know the [Pittsburgh] Steelers really want to go there [Dublin]," Goodell said at a briefing at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

"I have no doubt we will be playing in Ireland. I don't know if it'll be next year but it's coming soon."

The Steelers have been active on the island of Ireland in the last two years, hosting events and training clinics in Dublin and Belfast.

Speaking to BBC Sport NI in June, Pittsburgh's director of business development Dan Rooney said the Steelers were working on the "opportunity to play a live game in front of Irish fans" and it is understood the NFL carried out feasibility assessments in Dublin earlier this year.

The Aviva Stadium has hosted sell-out American football college games in recent years, showcasing the support for the sport, and in 1997 the Steelers played a pre-season game at Croke Park, the home of Gaelic games.

The NFL have expanded their international match series with regular season games now being played in London, Brazil and Germany this year with Madrid confirmed to welcome a game in 2025.

As part of the International Player Pathway, a number of Gaelic footballers have trialled for contracts in the NFL with former Derry player Jude McAtamney currently signed to the New York Giants' practice squad and former Down goalkeeper Charlie Smyth with the New Orleans Saints' practice squad.