13th November 2025
November 13 – Spain’s Athletic Club and the National Football League (NFL) are partnering on the most American of holidays, Thanksgiving.
A staple of the day stateside are the annual NFL games, and in the Basque Country on November 27, the Detroit Lions and the storied Green Bay Packers will be part of a Thanksgiving Watch Party at San Mamés.
The event will be held in the Sala Norte, where fans can watch the ‘other’ football. Hosted by Julen Axpe and NFL commentator Javi Gómez, it’s part watch party, part cultural exchange.
For Athletic Club, the partnership fits with their internationalisation push.
President Jon Uriarte said, “For Athletic Club, this partnership is a unique opportunity to share our story with massive new audiences without losing our essence. Combining our identity, which is one-of-a-kind in world football, with the NFL’s global reach opens the door to unforgettable sporting and cultural experiences.”
The NFL, for its part, continues to look overseas for new fans, and after years of sold-out games in London and Germany, Spain is next on the list. The league will host its first-ever regular-season game in the country this weekend, when the Miami Dolphins face the Washington Commanders at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
With this push to expand across Europe, the Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Bears, and Dolphins have already launched fan projects in Spain.
While LaLiga has long dreamt of playing regular-season games abroad, most recently with Barcelona and Villarreal, ironically enough, in Miami, resistance to the idea has been fierce. On the other hand, the NFL has managed to turn foreign fixtures into a cornerstone of its global growth.
The difference between the two leagues is that the NFL has significant oversight over the 32 privately or publicly owned franchises. The owners of these franchises operate the teams, but they are subject to league rules on ownership structure, finances, and major decisions like relocation, while LaLiga’s control is a hybrid of league oversight and individual club ownership.