The San Francisco 49ers will kick off their 2026 campaign next week against the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia. The 49ers arrived in Melbourne on Thursday afternoon (Friday morning local time) to begin preparations, while the Rams are not scheduled to arrive until a day before kickoff.
While it is officially a home game for the Rams, the 49ers are already well represented around Melbourne as the highly anticipated NFC West showdown approaches. Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group shared photos of 49ers signage around town, seemingly making the Australian city a temporarily welcoming home for The Faithful.
While the Rams likely requested the 49ers as their opponent to prevent The Faithful from once again taking over their home venue, SoFi Stadium, it is very likely that 49ers fans will be well represented at the Melbourne Cricket Ground when the teams kick off.
Thursday night's game (Friday locally) will mark the NFL's first regular-season game in Australia and the 49ers' fifth international matchup. San Francisco is looking to win its fourth consecutive game outside the United States.
The matchup between the 49ers and Rams will also mark the 155th overall meeting between the two teams and just the third time in series history that they have faced off in Week 1.
San Francisco has lost four of its last five contests against the Rams but has won six of its last seven regular-season road games against its NFC West rival.
Comments