Brock Purdy and Kyle Shanahan
Getty
The 49ers will be playing a regular season game in Mexico in 2026
The San Francisco 49ers had one of the more chaotic seasons across the NFL in 2025. Despite getting battered by injuries, the Niners remained one of the best teams in the league, and while they were blown out by the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round of the playoffs, the fact that they even made it that far is a miracle in its own right.
The Niners are going to use the offseason to get healthy before hopefully going on a Super Bowl run in 2026. However, it’s already looking like the team will be quite busy when they return to action next season, as San Fran issued an announcement about its schedule for the upcoming campaign that will surely catch fans’ attention.
49ers to Play in 2026 Mexico City Game
Ever since coming up just short in Super Bowl LVIII, the story for the 49ers has revolved around injuries. No matter what the team does, it always seems to be dealing with some sort of injury issues. In 2024, the Niners’ injury woes resulted in the team missing the playoffs entirely, and while they made it to the postseason this past year, it wasn’t all that surprising to see the team come up short against a healthier squad.
The time off during the offseason will surely help San Francisco, as the team will benefit from just getting several key players back on the field in 2026. They are going to need all the help they can get, though, because the early returns seem to indicate that the 49ers are going to have perhaps the busiest regular-season schedule of any team in the league.
With the league continuing its efforts to grow the game of football internationally, the 49ers were revealed to be one of two teams playing in the NFL’s first-ever game in Australia. As it turns out, that won’t be the only international trip the team is taking, as San Fran will also be playing in the 2026 Mexico City game, giving them two international games on their schedule for the upcoming campaign.
“New stop on our world tour,” the 49ers wrote in a post on X that announced this big schedule update.
49ers Will Have Their Work Cut Out for Them in 2026
Brock Purdy and Kyle Shanahan
GettyThe 49ers will be playing a regular season game in Mexico in 2026
While the NFL loves having these international games take place, they present logistical challenges for the teams and their players. Granted, making a trip to Mexico isn’t as bad as Australia (especially since the 49ers are already on the West Coast), but some folks believe these games make the lives of these teams and players more difficult than they need to be.
San Fran likely won’t be thrilled to have a pair of international games on its schedule for next season, but that’s just how the cookie crumbles sometimes. Before the team can even begin making its travel plans for the upcoming campaign, though, it has some serious work to do this offseason when it comes to upgrading its roster in free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft.