Arabic version: دوري كرة القدم الأمريكية يسجل ظهوره الأول في أستراليا على ملعب ملبورن للكريكيت

According to ABC News, the National Football League is being played in Australia for the first time as the Melbourne Cricket Ground hosts the LA Rams and San Francisco 49ers in their opening regular-season game. The NFC West rivals are meeting in Week 1 before a mammoth crowd.

Kick-off is scheduled for 10:35am in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, the ACT and Tasmania. The game begins at 10:05am in South Australia and the Northern Territory, 8:35am in Western Australia, 12:35pm in New Zealand, 5:35pm in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and 8:35pm in New York.

Players and coaches from both teams had arrived at the MCG less than two hours before kick-off. ABC News reported that fans were streaming in from across the world, while Netflix filmed a pre-game show outside the stadium.

The match is available in Australia on Fox Sports and Kayo, as well as free-to-air on Channel Seven and 7Plus, with coverage beginning at 10am AEST. Melbourne joins Paris and Rio de Janeiro as new regular-season NFL host cities in 2026. Before this season, 62 regular-season NFL games had been played outside the United States.