NFL Planning ‘Mini-Super Bowl’ at Paris Amid High Security Over Local Unrest

The National Football League is planning to create a “mini-Super Bowl” atmosphere at Paris this week for its first regular-season game in France, despite a heightened security presence after civil unrest protests engulfed the capital last weekend.Executive vice president of club business, international and league events Peter O’Reilly told reporters that league officials are collaborating with Parisian and national authorities, along with the U.S. State Department. Cathy Lanier, the senior VP of security, and other NFL officials are already in France monitoring logistics.“There’s nothing more important from our standpoint than the teams’ security, the fans’ security — everybody involved with this game,” Mr. O’Reilly said at the league’s annual fall owners meeting. “Obviously being very vigilant in everything we do, in all of our planning on an hour-by-hour basis, working closely with the two teams.”The heightened security comes after intense clashes at central Paris where protestors fought with police, set cars on fire, stormed public buildings and engulfed a historic city hall in flames in France’s worst civil unrest in years. Approximately, 2,400 people were arrested and thousands of businesses were damaged or looted.Despite the volatile backdrop, the league said the scheduled matchup between the New Orleans Saints and the Pittsburgh Steelers was never in danger of being cancelled or relocated from Stade de France, which is in the outskirts of Paris in Saint-Denis.“We continue to work closely with local authorities and partners on all operational and security matters,” the NFL said in a statement. “We are also providing the two clubs with regular updates. There’s been no disruption or impact at league sites.”The Saints arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport Monday morning after beating the New York Giants 34-27 on Sunday. New Orleans tight end Juwan Johnson said some of his family members remain “very undecided” about whether to travel to Paris.“Just being safe is obviously the biggest thing,” Mr. Johnson told reporters upon arrival at Paris. “Some guys have family here. Some guys have their parents, their kids and things like that.”Mr. Johnson said his family may make the trip. “If they do, I’m sure it’ll be great,” he said. “If they don’t, obviously I completely understand. We’re very undecided right now.”The Steelers will complete early preparations at home before traveling to Paris later this week. The organization held a virtual meeting with the NFL on Monday to go over security, a standard procedure for all international games.“We feel like we have a really good plan,” Pittsburgh coach Mike McCarthy said. “We’re aware of the situations over there and have a lot of confidence in our plan.”The NFL has been looking forward to making its debut at Paris. Brett Gosper, the NFL’s head of Europe and Asia-Pacific, told The Associated Press that the French market has been a priority target for international fan development.“It would make sense to play regularly here each year, but we haven’t made that call yet,” Mr. Gosper said in a recent interview. “We like to see how things go the first time, but we’re pretty confident it will be a successful execution of that game.”To land lucrative media-rights deals in any market, the league knows it needs to attract new fans and impact that country’s television viewership. That’s why it wants to give the game a Super Bowl feel.“If we can make this week as much like a Super Bowl as possible, a mini–Super Bowl, then we’ll hopefully recruit some new fans this week and that’s the whole goal,” Mr. Gosper said.To enhance the game’s promotion, the NFL partnered with premier French football club Paris Saint-Germain to release two custom-designed crossover game jerseys. Additionally, Saints players were also invited to PSG’s Champions League game against Barcelona at Parc des Princes on Tuesday night.Under the collective bargaining agreement, the NFL is authorized to host up to 10 international games. A record nine international games are being played this season, with future games and sites under active consideration.“We like continuity, but we are looking at new regions, and Asia would be one of them,” Mr. O’Reilly said.

NFL Planning ‘Mini-Super Bowl’ at Paris Amid High Security Over Local Unrest

NFL Planning ‘Mini-Super Bowl’ at Paris Amid High Security Over Local Unrest

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