Tag: International Series

Anthony Kim will tee it up in a non-LIV Golf event next week

That’s one way to knock off competitive rust.

Anthony Kim is going to play three straight weeks in his return to professional golf.

On Saturday, the 38-year-old carded his best round with LIV Golf, a 2-over 72 at LIV Golf Hong Kong. He sits 8 over, tied with Phil Mickelson, heading into the final round. Kim’s second round included four birdies, his most in his five rounds yet.

Next week, though LIV Golf doesn’t have an event, he will join roughly 20 other golfers from the circuit at the Asian Tour’s International Series Macau. Also in the field are Patrick Reed, Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia, among others.

International Series Macau will be at Macau Golf and Country Club in China. It’s the second International Series event of the year, with Carlos Ortiz winning the first two weeks ago in Oman.

LIV: Best photos from Hong Kong

The Asian Tour has a 10-year, $300 million partnership with LIV Golf. The circuit also awards world ranking points. Last year, Andy Ogletree earned a season-long exemption into LIV for winning the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit.

Kim, a three-time PGA Tour winner, returned to professional golf last week after more than a decade away. After not beating anyone last week, he is ahead of only Hudson Swafford heading to the final round in China.

LIV Golf players flock to Asian Tour event in search of world ranking points

The 2024 Masters is less than two months away, and the race for the OWGR top 50 is on.

We’re less than two months away from the first men’s major championship of the year, and the race to qualify via the Official World Golf Ranking is heating up.

One way to play into the 2024 Masters field is to secure a spot inside the top 50 of the OWGR the week before the event at Augusta National, April 11-14. PGA Tour players have seven more events to earn points, while the DP World Tour has five events on its schedule before the Masters. LIV Golf players, however, are running out of time.

This week, 21 of the 54 current players in the league led by Greg Norman and backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund have entered the Asian Tour’s first International Series event of the year in Oman. The International Series consists of 10 events – funded by LIV Golf – that offer significantly less prize money than LIV events. So why play? Under the Asian Tour wing, International Series events dish out OWGR points.

LIV Golf hasn’t been granted OWGR points despite numerous attempts (remember the MENA Tour alliance?), which has caused its players to plummet in the rankings over the last two years. Patrick Reed is 100th, Bryson DeChambeau is 169th and Dustin Johnson is 238th, to name a few.

Of the 21 LIV players in the Oman field, just three are currently inside the top 100: Lucas Herbert (80), Joaquin Niemann (81) and Dean Burmester (95).

“I think I have a different mindset for this year,” said Niemann after he won LIV’s season opener in Mexico earlier this month. “It kind of hurt me a little bit not being in the majors and I think also helped me to get motivation to kind of earn my spot back into the majors.”

Both Niemann and Burmester played their way into the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon via their Open Qualifying Series wins at the end of 2023, but a trip down Magnolia Lane may be out of reach. LIV has three events in the next seven weeks leading up to the Masters – Jeddah (March 1-3), Hong Kong (March 8-10) and Miami (April 5-7) – which makes any sort of top-50 push for the Masters not necessarily impossible, but certainly improbable.

The U.S. Open and Open Championship feature top 60 and top 50 exemptions, respectively, and while the PGA Championship doesn’t explicitly grant exemptions based on the OWGR, special exemptions are often given to players inside the top 100 to those who aren’t qualified through a set category.

Long story short, this week’s event in Oman is just the start of what will be a busy year for LIV players not already qualified for the majors.

LIV players in International Series Oman field

Player Current OWGR Ranking
Lucas Herbert 80
Joaquin Niemann 81
Dean Burmester 95
Louis Oosthuizen 137
David Puig 141
Mito Pereira 154
Abraham Ancer 165
Anirban Lahiri 309
Charl Schwartzel 329
Matt Jones 395
Eugenio Chacarra 411
Scott Vincent 413
Kieran Vincent 422
Sebastian Munoz 428
Jinichiro Kozuma 522
Peter Uihlein 629
Danny Lee 643
Branden Grace 715
Matthew Wolff 1,113
Carlos Ortiz 1,286
Hudson Swafford 1,786

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Peter King hints that Browns could play Eagles Week 1 in Brazil

The Browns could be heading to São Paulo in September

The 2024 NFL schedule is months away from being released, but one NFL insider has stated he is “feeling good” about the chances the Cleveland Browns will be the team to take on the Philadelphia Eagles in São Paulo.

NBC Sports’ Peter King has confidence that the Browns will be traveling to take on the Eagles at Corinthians Arena for the first-ever NFL game in Brazil. The Browns have played one international game, a 33-16 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in London in 2017.

To be honest, who is to say a Week 1 game in Brazil is too much more difficult than a Week 1 game in Philadelphia?

Saints could play International Series game in Germany in 2024

The Saints could play an International Series game with the Panthers in Germany in 2024. Divisional matchups are uncommon, but not unheard of:

There’s a chance the New Orleans Saints could fly overseas again in 2024. The NFL announced Monday that five games will be played in its International Series next season, with the Carolina Panthers hosting one of them. The Saints are not scheduled to travel for games against the other four hosts, but they’ll go to Carolina as part of the annual two-game NFC South rivalry series.

Or, maybe, they’ll go to Germany. The Panthers will play a home game at Munich’s Allianz Arena. New Orleans will not lose another home game to the International Series slate until 2030, but that doesn’t mean they’re prevented from making the trip as visitors. And this being an NFC South feature won’t stop the NFL from assigning them to go.

Divisional matchups are uncommon in overseas games, but they aren’t as rare as you’d think. Of the 43 NFL games played abroad, six have pitted divisional opponents.

In 2022 the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals kicked off at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. There were three games featuring divisional rivals in the 2019 season, including the Carolina Panthers’ matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in London (the Panthers were nominal visitors). Here’s the full list of divisional games in the International Series:

  • 2015: New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins (AFC East)
  • 2017: Arizona Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Rams (NFC West)
  • 2019: Carolina Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFC South)
  • 2019: Houston Texans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (AFC South)
  • 2019: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Chargers (AFC West)
  • 2022: San Francisco 49ers vs. Arizona Cardinals (NFC West)

The Saints have played three games in the International Series since it kicked off back in 2007: They won twice at Wembley Stadium in London, beating the San Diego Chargers in 2008 and shutting out the Miami Dolphins in 2017, but they lost a close one to the Minnesota Vikings at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2022.

We’ll have to wait and see whether the Saints are making a trip to Germany this year. We learned in early May 2022 that the Saints would kick off with the Vikings in London. The NFL typically unveils the full schedule in May. And watch out for sketchy reports — German tabloids last year ran with the story that the Saints would be visiting for a game with the New England Patriots, but it didn’t pan out. So maybe wait to plan your trip.

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International Saints fans say Caesars Superdome security defaced their flag at Giants game

A Saints fan visiting from the United Kingdom says a member of the Caesars Superdome security team defaced their flag at Sunday’s Giants game:

You hate to see this. A British New Orleans Saints fan traveled all the way from the United Kingdom to support their favorite team and visit the Crescent City, only for an ugly run-in with the Caesars Superdome security team spoiling the experience.

As told by the Dome Patrol UK social media page, this fan was flying a large flag modeled after the UK’s Union Jack in black and gold, emblazoned with “Who Dat” and “UK Saints” as well as the team logo. They displayed the flag from the upper level railing at last week’s game with the Carolina Panthers without issue, and brought it back for Sunday’s game against the New York Giants. Except this time, they say, a member of the security team confiscated the flag and then defaced it by slashing it apart down the middle.

That’s excessive. “Conduct that results in damage to the stadium or other personal property,” is a punishable offense per the Saints’ established Fan Code of Conduct, as are offensive language and obscene gestures towards someone concerning their national origin. But it’s fine for someone’s personal property — representing their nationality, to boot — to be taken away and destroyed by stadium staff? Come on.

It’s an awful look for the Saints as an organization after the team traveled overseas for a game in London just last year. This incident falls on the heels of an expanded slate of international games as the NFL looks to reach foreign markets and win over fans outside America.

Sure, it is a large flag, and it’s possible it may have been limiting other fans’ viewing of the field. But if that’s the case then Superdome security shouldn’t have let the flag be brought inside the building in the first place, much less twice. Confiscating it with a warning would have been one thing. Taking an extra step to deface it and insult fans who spent thousands of dollars to travel so far to support the team is just mean-spirited. The Saints need to make this right.

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Will the Dolphins play in Brazil in 2024?

Brazil will host an NFL game in 2024. Dot-connecting leads one to believe the Dolphins might be a strong candidate to play in the game.

The NFL confirmed Wednesday that a to-be-announced regular-season game will be played at Corinthians Arena in São Paulo, Brazil in 2024. The designated “home” team for that game is expected to be announced in January.

The NFL’s Global Markets Program (formerly called International Home Market Areas) might provide clues as to who will “host” that game.

There are 14 countries in the program and most of them have multiple teams designated to them. Brazil has just one designated team: the Miami Dolphins.

Back when the program was announced in 2021 as IHMA, the NFL said: “The league will use its best efforts to ensure clubs play their international games in their international HMAs, where possible.”

So that doesn’t mean teams will exclusively play international games in their designated market, but when possible, they will. Given that the Brazil market was awarded to Miami, the Dolphins might be a strong candidate to “host” the South America game in 2024.

Miami just played an international game in Germany earlier this year, so that might make a trip to Brazil in 2024 less likely, but the league will begin playing up to eight international games per season in 2025. Once that happens, half the league will play an international game every year. So playing outside the U.S. frequently could become the norm soon.

Miami is also one of the league’s most willing teams to play internationally (only the Jacksonville Jaguars have played more games outside the USA). Last year, Peter King of NBC Sports wrote that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross “may push for a game in Brazil or Spain as early as 2024.”

Earlier this month, John Sutcliffe of ESPN Deportes reported that the Brazil game could be played in Week 1, and he also named the Dolphins as a potential candidate to feature in the game.

For now, Miami playing in Brazil next season is just a possibility. Based on the language of the league’s Global Markets Program, though, Dolphins fans should probably be following NFL’s upcoming international announcements. We’ll find out more in January.

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South America’s Team? NFL to play in Brazil in 2024; will Cowboys make the trip?

From @ToddBrock24f7: The league will play on the South American continent for the first time next year, but don’t pencil in the Cowboys quite yet.

The NFL is coming to the South American continent in 2024. A regular-season game will be played in São Paulo, Brazil next season, according to an announcement made Wednesday at the owners’ meetings in Dallas.

While the teams who will participate have not been revealed, Cowboys fans have already begun wondering if it’s time for their team to update their passports.

The game will be staged at Corinthians Arena, the home stadium of Brazilian soccer club SC Corinthians. The venue has been used in FIFA World Cup play as well as the Olympic Games in recent years. The arena normally has a capacity of just over 49,000, although temporary seating was added in 2014 to accommodate up to 65,000.

“There’s a lot of interest in the NFL,” league executive vice president Peter O’Reilly said during a September interview on The Adam Schefter Podcast. “I mean, we saw it. We did a Super Bowl viewing party last year down in Brazil, and it was packed, and the energy is there.”

The expansion to Brazil is part of an initiative to increase the slate of internationally-played games from four to eight per season in 2025. The NFL’s International Series currently has a regular presence in England, Mexico, and Germany.

Spain was also reportedly a finalist for the 2024 schedule. The city of Madrid, home to iconic soccer club Real Madrid, will continue to be considered as a likely site for future expansion.

But São Paulo mayor Ricardo Nunes claims that Brazil has the third-most NFL fans of any country in the world, behind Mexico and the United States. And the league was almost certainly eager to plant its flag on a new continent before setting up shop in yet another European city.

The Cowboys have not played on foreign soil since their 2014 trip to London to face the Jaguars. (Only the Steelers have gone longer without an international game.) To that end and to fill eight global games each season, owners passed a resolution Wednesday that requires every team to play an international game at least every four years.

Thanks to having an extra home date in 2024, the NFC will be designated as the “home” team for the first-ever Brazilian contest. Given that and their long absence from international play, some might naturally assume that Dallas’s number is up. But team owner Jerry Jones may not be so quick to let his Cowboys become gauchos, even if only for one Sunday, as a home date at AT&T Stadium is seen as too lucrative to just let go without a very compelling reason.

“You’re required to give up a home game, but we’re so committed to Mexico,” Jones explained Tuesday, per the Dallas Morning News. “When we talk about playing away and not having a home game, that would be my first thought. I don’t want to not remember where our design is. If we give up a game, it would be a desire to make it a Mexican game.”

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The Cowboys already have commercial rights in Mexico under the NFL’s global markets program, but the league will not return there in 2024 due to planned renovations to Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

Theoretically, Dallas could still end up playing in Brazil- or another of the international locations- as the visiting team once 2024’s international matchups are announced.

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Cowboys WR Michael Gallup one of 8 NFL players headed to Europe on business tour

From @ToddBrock24f7: The NFLPA’s Player Passport Tour is meant to deepen the bond with European fans and businesses and help build players’ brands overseas.

The Cowboys won’t be traveling overseas to play a game on foreign soil in 2023, but Michael Gallup will be getting his passport stamped on official league business just the same.

The sixth-year wide receiver is one of eight current NFL players chosen by the NFLPA for its Player Passport Tour, an initiative meant to deepen the league’s growing connection with fans and businesses in both the United Kingdom and Germany. The players union made the announcement on Tuesday.

Gallup will travel to both London and Frankfurt next week, June 19-25, as part of a group that includes Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Titans safety Kevin Byard, Bills wide receiver Gabe Davis, Buccaneers cornerback Jamel Dean, plus others.

Along with meet-and-greet sessions, autograph signings, and flag football clinics, the players will also take part in business panel discussions intended to help grow their personal brands, immerse themselves in local culture and history, and even connect with Premier League athletes.

“The growth of American football in Europe has created unprecedented business opportunities for NFL players,” said NFL Players Inc. president Steve Scebelo in announcing the program. “Their personalities hold tremendous marketing and licensing power, fostering genuine connections between global brands and fans.”

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Five of the eight players attending this inaugural Player Passport Tour will be back in Europe during the 2023 regular season when their teams play as part of the NFL International Series.

In 2022, the league’s three London games attracted a total of 209,000 attendees, and the first-ever NFL game staged in Munich sold 70,000 tickets, a testament to the sport’s immense popularity there.

The Cowboys have not played overseas since 2014, when they beat Jacksonville by a 31-17 score at London’s Wembley Stadium. Only the Pittsburgh Steelers have gone longer without an appearance in the International Series.

Gallup himself is looking to have a bounceback season in 2023. The former third-round draft pick admitted to not feeling like himself during the 2022 campaign as he rehabbed from an ACL tear suffered in January. This offseason, Gallup says he finally feels “springy again” and is eager to get onto the field as part of a wide receiver corps in Dallas that includes CeeDee Lamb and the newly-acquired Brandin Cooks.

But first, a quick European vacation.

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NFL grants Saints exclusive international marketing rights in France

The NFL has granted the New Orleans Saints exclusive international marketing rights in France, opening new opportunities for the black and gold:

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This is a really cool opportunity for the New Orleans Saints. On Tuesday, the NFL announced that the Saints requested — and had been awarded — exclusive international marketing rights in France, making New Orleans the first NFL team to venture into the country on this scale.

Saints owner Gayle Benson said in a statement released through the league:

“We are excited for our club to be awarded France as part of the NFL Global Markets Program. New Orleans and France have enjoyed a unique cultural connection for centuries and we are excited about working with the NFL and our partners in France to grow the game of American football.  In addition to having the opportunity to market our team in France, we are looking forward to promoting our city and state and driving investment in local and regional businesses.”

So are the Saints going to play a game in France? Probably, but not in 2023, and maybe not even in 2024. This movement is geared more towards laying the groundwork for a sustained international fanbase through community outreach and promotions developing interest in the team. And it makes a lot of sense for New Orleans to get the nod here given their historical ties to France. We should expect a Saints game in France someday, but not in the immediate future. That’s going to be welcome news for the French Saints fans already excited following their team.

What about a possible venue? We’re putting the cart before the horse here, but there are many sizeable stadiums the NFL could eventually consider. The largest is the Stade de France in Paris’ Saint-Denis suburbs (capacity of over 81,000), but they could also look to the Stade Velodrome in Marseille (67,000) and the Parc Olympique Lyonnais in Lyon (59,000) or a more-intimate venue in the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille (50,000). Those are all comparable to the arenas in Britain and Germany that the NFL has targeted in recent years.

The NFL is making a strong push to establish support in multiple European countries. Though the Saints have exclusive marketing rights in France,  there are other franchises actively cultivating neighboring nations like Spain (Miami Dolphins and Chicago Bears), Germany (Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers), and the United Kingdom (Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers, Bears, Dolphins, and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Northern Ireland). Teams are also busy building support in Switzerland, Austria, and many other countries around the globe.

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So when will the Saints play their next international game?

The Saints are not going to Germany in 2023, as had previously been reported abroad. So when will they play their next international game?

News from the NFL that the New Orleans Saints will not be traveling for a game in Germany was something positive for many fans to wake up to stateside, but it’s a tough break for fans in Europe who were hoping to see their team in person. The New England Patriots are going to “host” a different opponent than the one which had been reported in local outlets.

So when will the Saints be playing overseas again?

It could be as soon as 2024, but the good news for New Orleans (especially season-ticket holders) is that the Saints will not be losing a home game for an international matchup until 2030. When the NFL rolled out its 17-game schedule in 2021, it determined that every team would take the role as the “home” team for one international game every eight years.

Since the Saints were hosts in 2022 (traveling to London to face the Minnesota Vikings), they won’t lose another home game at the Caesars Superdome until 2030.

This means the Saints could play a game abroad in 2024, 2025, 2026, and so on. We’ll have to wait and see. Where an international game could be played is just as unclear; the league has scheduled games in London, Munich, Frankfurt, and Mexico City as it continues to make inroads to other markets around the world.

Regardless of that future scheduling, this is good for the Saints in the short term. Because they won’t be taking the role as the home team and losing a lucrative game in New Orleans, they’ll finally enjoy the benefits of a 17-game schedule with nine home games in 2024:

  • 2021: 7 of 8 home games in New Orleans (relocated to Jacksonville due to Hurricane Ida for Week 1 vs. Green Bay Packers)
  • 2022: 8 of 9 home games in New Orleans (assigned to London for international game in Week 4 vs. Minnesota Vikings)
  • 2023: 8 of 8 home games in New Orleans (No changes expected)
  • 2024: 9 of 9 home games in New Orleans (No changes expected)

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