Croke Park stadium director Peter McKenna says he’s “really confident” about the NFL returning to GAA headquarters in 2027.

This past September saw the Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the Minnesota Vikings before a 74,512 crowd in what was the first NFL regular season game to be held at Croker.

Despite the event’s huge success, commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed last week that the NFL wouldn’t be returning to Dublin in 2026, but McKenna says that he’s confident of it returning the following year.

"The [NFL game] was a huge fillip to the Irish economy,” the stadium director is quoted saying by RTE Sport.

"And to be fair, we got massive support from the government on that as well.

"The game that we were hoping for [this year] is going to go to Paris, but [we’re] really confident about getting games in 2027 and hopefully a few more before the decade runs out."

He added: "In concerts we have The Weeknd and John Bon Jovi. There is a nice little package of activity this year coming up.

"To be fair to Live Nation and Denis Desmond, they have put us on the map, no doubt about that.

"2026 is going to be a good year. The fact The Weeknd can do two nights in Croke Park is massive. I think the point I'd really like to stress is how important these are to the Dublin economy. They really take so many people in with them."

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