LA Rams OL Max Pircher is not just here to check out the sights

How popular is American Football to the world right now? Well, according to a March 2, 2021 article by FishDuck.com, the sport is the ninth most popular sport on the planet. The top sport is of course Association Football which is known in the US as soccer. The second most popular sport? Cricket, naturally.  Neither of which are played by the LA Rams, but be patient. We’ll get to why this matters to the Rams soon enough.

American Football is a distant ninth in worldwide popularity, but the NFL has plans to improve on that.  One way has been the effort to play NFL games at international stadiums. That has allowed Mexico, England, and Canada to host NFL games since 2000. Of course, American Football has inspired other versions to develop internationally. There is the Canadian Football League, Gridiron Australia, and others.

When the NFL launched its NFL International Pathway Program in 2017, the official goal was to

"” provide elite international athletes the opportunity to compete at the NFL level, improve their skills, and ultimately earn a spot on an NFL roster.​” – per American Football International"

Of course, there was the unspoken goal of increasing the popularity of the sport, creating an international market for American Football, and perhaps creating new franchise sites for the sport in the future.

That is a very ambitious strategic plan, but the seeds have already been planted. The NFL has a keen marketing department, and they have turned their sights to attracting interest to American Football from all over the globe.