\n<\/p>\n
Holding a training camp in Monaco would certainly help boost the Saints’ profile in France before a potential game in Paris.<\/p>\n
The NFL has carried out a site visit of the Stade de France and is set to announce its next international games.<\/p>\n
“We are fully supportive of that bid and would like to play in that game,” said Bensel. “If we get a game in 2026 or 2027, we’d love to do a large run-up to that.<\/p>\n
“But we’ve done enough legwork in the market so that we can hit the go button and be prepared.”<\/p>\n
The Saints are in talks with the French Federation of American Football (FFFA) and plan to implement school flag football programmes in five or six cities across France, plus a league structure, before any Paris game.<\/p>\n
Benson also own the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans, so the Saints’ leadership group already has some media partners in France and know that “the NBA is more prominent than the NFL”.<\/p>\n
“We did it with eyes wide open,” added Bensel. “In the United Kingdom and Germany, they love the NFL. In France, not as much. We entered the market knowing that.”<\/p>\n
The NFL is also discussing potential games in the Middle East and Asia, while Ireland and Spain staged their first games this season.<\/p>\n
Brett Gosper, the NFL’s head of Europe & Asia-Pacific, told BBC Sport that the league has “identified 13 markets that are our priority on a number of criteria, and our goal is to invest in those markets because we believe there’s a fanbase. We believe there are partners there that can increase our footprint.”<\/p>\n
Gosper said that international games “serve as a lightning rod for new fans in the new markets that we’re expanding into.<\/p>\n
“We just want to make sure that all of the elements are lined up for those games to be a success when we enter those markets, and continue to work them with a local presence as we go forward.”<\/p>\n
And Gosper provided some positive news for any fans hoping for a Paris game, or a return to Dublin or Madrid.<\/p>\n
“If we go to markets, it’s never going to be a one-off,” he said. “It may not be every year, but it won’t be a one-off.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n