The NFL kicks off its first-ever Paris Game on Sunday, October 25, at France’s Stade de France. Symbolic home of France’s roi du sports, football (soccer), the arena is the league’s first touchdown in the hexagon.
This inaugural edition will feature the New Orleans Saints (who have NFL market rights for the country) and the Pittsburgh Steelers. And while its the league’s maiden voyage on French soil, the game has a much deeper history.
And some of that history is told through the FranceAndUS project.
FranceAndUS is an educational information campaign I launched in 2021 to tell the story of Franco-American relations through sports, Its other key objective is to unpack what sports diplomacy can look like from a variety of stakeholder perspectives over time, including the rising generation. That’s the story told through its Voices section, which aims to compile 250 individual stories in celebration of 250 years of Franco-American relations. Originally set for 2028, to commemorate the 1778 Treaty of Alliance with France, the timespan has expanded in acknowledgement of an expanded French-American Olympic and Paralympic cycle:
Summer Games Paris 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣4️⃣ 👉 Los Angeles 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣8️⃣
Winter Games French Alps 2️⃣0️⃣3️⃣0️⃣ 👉 Salt Lake City 2️⃣0️⃣3️⃣4️⃣
FranceAndUS helps put the NFL Paris Game into greater context, such as:
🏈 Richard Tardits aka “Le Sack” was a rugby player from Bayonne who turned a storied NCAA career with the Georgia Bulldogs into a springboard to the NFL. The league’s first Frenchman played all 27 games of his career (1990-92) with the New England Patriots. Read more in this Voice written by FranceAndUS Sports Diplomacy Consultant Dr. Louise Gueydon.
🏈 American football was first introduced to France in 1900 during an exhibition match, and while it was never as popular as football football ⚽️, as this Backgrounder by Dr. Russ Crawford notes, the game has hewed a foothold over time.
🏈 Maceo Beard-Aigret, former cornerback for the Paris Musketeers, is part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway program (IPP) recently signed with the Minnesota Vikings. Learn more in this Voice written by Leon Nelson.
🏈 Flag football is on the rise in France ahead of its Olympic debut at LA2028, and the French women’s flag team is gunning for a spot. This Backgrounder by Dr. Russ Crawford takes you deep into last year’s IFAF European Women’s Flag Football Championship in Choisy-le-Roi, France.
🏈 Go behind the scenes with Jan Woska, the International Relations Liaison for the New Orleans Saints who is helping both teams foster cultural and economic ties through sports diplomacy.