The US National Football League (NFL) will break new ground in its global expansion when the Los Angeles Rams face the San Francisco 49ers in Australia’s first NFL regular-season game.

The longtime divisional rivals in American football will meet Friday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground before about 100,000 spectators, marking the first regular-season NFL game staged in the Asia-Pacific region.

Kickoff is scheduled for 10.35 am local time Friday (1235GMT). The game will be streamed globally on Netflix, with the Jonas Brothers scheduled to perform during the halftime show.

The Rams are the designated home team, meaning they give up one of their regular home games in Los Angeles.

The matchup takes the NFL regular season to a new continent and extends the league’s international reach beyond its established markets in Europe and the Americas.

Australia previously hosted an NFL preseason game back in 1999, when the Denver Broncos beat the San Diego Chargers in the American Bowl in Sydney.

Unlike that exhibition, the Melbourne game counts toward the teams’ regular-season records and could affect their chances of reaching the playoffs.

It is also the NFL’s longest-ever journey for a regular-season game, taking the league about 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers) from its New York headquarters.

The flight from California to Melbourne, on Australia's southeastern coast, takes about 16 hours, while the city is 17 hours ahead of the US West Coast.

The teams had different travel plans, with the 49ers arriving in Melbourne a week before the game and the Rams arriving just a day before kickoff.

The NFL considers Australia a major growth market, estimating that its fan base there has nearly doubled since 2022 to 8.8 million.

Australian players have also raised the league’s profile, while the NFL is expanding flag football ahead of its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games and seeking its inclusion at the Brisbane 2032 Games.

Melbourne was selected because of its experience hosting major sporting events and the international profile of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

The game is part of a multiyear agreement between the NFL and the Victorian government to stage regular-season games in the city.

Demand for tickets exceeded expectations, with the NFL estimating that nearly half of the crowd will come from outside Victoria or overseas.

Converting the MCG from a cricket and Australian rules football venue required the NFL to transport about 59 tons of equipment and deploy more than 200 staff.

The Rams and 49ers are longtime divisional rivals based in California.

The Rams play their home games at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles, while the 49ers are based in the San Francisco Bay Area and play at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

Both are regular playoff contenders and compete in the NFC West, one of the league’s eight divisions, so the result could prove important in the NFC West standings and the teams’ playoff race.

The Melbourne game is part of the NFL’s strategy to boost audiences, commercial partnerships, and participation outside the US.

The league staged its first regular-season game outside the US in Mexico City in 2005 and established its International Series in 2007.

London has become its most frequent overseas destination, while regular-season games have also been played in Mexico, Canada, Germany, Brazil, Ireland, and Spain.

The 2026 season includes a record nine international games across four continents, including first-time regular-season events in Melbourne, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said the league eventually wants to stage as many as 16 international games per season.

The league is focusing on recurring games and developing audiences in overseas markets rather than establishing a permanent international franchise.

The Melbourne game will therefore serve as an important test of the NFL’s ability to expand further into Australia and the wider Asia-Pacific region. (AA)