The San Francisco 49ers Will Face the Los Angeles Rams in 2026 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
MELBOURNE — The National Football League has announced that the San Francisco 49ers will play the Los Angeles Rams in the historic first-ever regular season game in Melbourne, Australia. The teams will meet at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), in partnership with the Victorian State Government and Visit Victoria.
The game in Melbourne will be part of an NFL record nine international games in 2026 across four continents, seven countries and eight stadiums.
"As we continue our preparations for the NFL's first-ever regular season game at the MCG in Melbourne, we are delighted that the San Francisco 49ers will take on the Los Angeles Rams," said NFL Australia & New Zealand General Manager Charlotte Offord. "The 49ers are a popular franchise within the Australian market, and this rivalry game solidifies what we know is going to be an incredible NFL experience for our fans down under."
"This is a terrific opportunity to continue to support the league in its mission to grow the game of football," said Al Guido, CEO of the 49ers. "We look forward to working with the NFL to benefit local Australian communities through sport."
"As we make history with the NFL and bring the first regular season game to Australia, we are pleased to take our annual match-up against our NFC West rival San Francisco 49ers to the MCG," said Los Angeles Rams President Kevin Demoff. "Since we first secured marketing rights to the country in 2021 and more recently since the announcement of this game last year, we have seen tremendous excitement for our team from fans both in Australia and also across the world. We look forward to spending this offseason continuing to deepen our connection with the Melbourne community leading up to the game this fall."
Further details including date, kickoff time and ticket information will be announced at a later date.
"Bringing the NFL to the MCG is a huge win both on and off the field – and hosting a team like the San Francisco 49ers will make it even better," said Premier of Victoria Jacinta Allan. "We can't wait to welcome these two great teams to Melbourne and showcase the best of our city and our state."
"This event will shine an international spotlight on Melbourne bringing even more visitors from across the globe," said Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos. "We're already seeing year-round benefits thanks to our major marketing campaigns that are exposing American audiences to the best of Victoria, and having the 49ers will only add to the interest."
The Los Angeles Rams, alongside the Seattle Seahawks, Las Vegas Raiders and Philadelphia Eagles, hold international marketing rights in Australia and New Zealand as part of the NFL's Global Markets Program, an initiative that grants global marketing rights to clubs in markets outside of the U.S. to build brand awareness and fandom. All 32 NFL teams participate in the program with rights across 21 markets. Since being awarded those rights in 2021, the Rams have expanded their presence in Australia through partnerships and key player initiatives.
The NFL has a growing presence in Australia with over 7.5 million passionate fans and is committed to investing in the development of the game year-round across the continent and the Asia-Pacific region. The NFL opened its Australia and New Zealand office in 2022 on Australia's Gold Coast, established an NFL Flag football program in 2022 and officially launched the NFL Academy APAC in 2024.
Flag football, the non-contact format of the game, will make its debut as an Olympic sport in Los Angeles 2028 (LA28). NFL Flag is played across all states and territories in Australia, with almost 100,000 participants currently playing the game across more than 500 schools. In partnership with the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) and American Football Australia (AFA) the league continues to showcase efforts to increase participation and inspire the next generation, with Brisbane '32 aspirations also in its sights.
The above information was provided by NFL Communications and 49ers Communications.