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MCC CEO offers interesting fixture update for MCG NFL match
Nicholas Quinlan • September 18th, 2025 5:23 pm
MCC CEO Stuart Fox has given an update regarding the inaugural NFL match set to be played in Melbourne next season.
With the announcement being made during this year’s Super Bowl week, there has been plenty of buzz about the event, with this being the second American league to have held a match in the Victorian capital in recent years and the first time that the NFL has come down under for an official match.
While the NFL have not released the schedule for the 2026 season, the game is expected to be played in the opening week to help allow players to acclimatise to the conditions, considering the amount of travel involved.
And this is the timeline that the MCC is working on with Fox, expecting the match to be played as the season opener in September on either a Thursday or Friday.
But according to the CEO, the match is expected to be played in an unusual timeslot.
“It will definitely be in September, I think,” Fox said on SEN’s Dwayne’s World.
“And we’re getting a strong vibe from the NFL (about that time).
“It’s likely to be a Friday morning, which might sound odd to a lot of people, but the place will fill no matter what.
“So, it might be a 10 or 11 o’clock game on a Friday, it could even be a Thursday, and that sounds odd, but it will be live in the US as the opening game of the year.
“So that’s pretty exciting for not only the ‘G, not only Victoria, but our country being beamed into the US, it will be amazing.”
A 10am or 11am game on Friday in Melbourne would mean that it would be televised into the broadcast-friendly times of Thursday between 5-6pm in the US West Coast and 8-9pm on the East Coast.
But with the likely September match, there is a high likelihood of a scheduling clash with the AFL Finals, creating plenty of pressure for the MCC and MCG staff to have the ground ready for both events.
But Fox is confident that his team can pull it off despite the overlay of the NFL match being one of the most significant undertakings he has undertaken.
“It’s a joint issue,” he noted.
“I’ve been talking with the AFL about it. They are well aware.
“It’s something we’ll have to work through, and if it is a Friday, then we have to get the ‘G ready the next day.
“So that’s a huge commitment because we have been over and had a look at the overlay that happens with the NFL, and it’s the most significant undertaking I have ever seen for a major event.
“So, for us to do that overlay at the ‘G, it’s going to be complicated and challenging, but we’re up for it.”
The Los Angeles Rams have already been confirmed as the home team, as they currently hold the co-rights to the NFL’s International Market Rights to Australia.
Their opponent will be confirmed in May next year.
