The San Francisco 49ers are headed back to Mexico City in 2026, anchoring the NFL’s return to a market the league sat out for three straight seasons during stadium renovations and World Cup preparations.
The team with five Super Bowl championships from 1981 to 1994 will serve as the home team for a regular-season game at renovated Azteca Stadium — now tabbed Estadio Banorte in a 12-year naming-rights deal to help fund the work.
The 49ers’ opponent, along with the game date and kickoff time, will be announced when the full 2026 NFL schedule is revealed this spring.
Only the 49ers were announced this week, with the league treating it as a “home team designation” reveal.
We also know that the game will be played in December, according to a statement from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, and that the league also has agreed to return to the Mexican capital for games in 2027 and 2028.
This year’s game will mark the 49ers’ third regular-season appearance in Mexico City after a 31-14 loss to the Arizona Cardinals in 2005 — the NFL’s first regular season game outside of the U.S. — and a 38-10 win over the Cardinals in 2022 before 78,427 fans.
The 2005 game drew a then-NFL-record crowd of 103,467 to Azteca Stadium, a decade ahead of a major refurbishment (VIP boxes, widened aisles, individual seats) that reduced the stadium’s capacity by about 20,000. That record fell to a 2009 Dallas Cowboys’ home game that drew 105,121 fans.
The 2022 game marked the NFL’s fifth regular-season game in Mexico City, including a run of games in 2016 (Oakland Raiders 27-20 over Houston Texans), 2017 (New England Patriots 33-8 over Raiders) and 2019 (Kansas City Chiefs 24-17 over Los Angeles Chargers). Each drew crowds in the mid-70,000s.
In late 2024, the NFL was talking about an expected return to CDMX for the 2025 season, but reports soon began circulating that the game was in peril — and by spring it was known that the NFL was again skipping Mexico.
For 2026, the NFL has scheduled a record nine regular-season games across four continents. There will be games in seven countries at eight stadiums: Mexico City, Madrid, Munich, Melbourne, Paris, Rio de Janeiro and London (three games in two stadiums).
NFL Director General Arturo Olive said the league is “delighted” to have the 49ers back in Mexico City, and 49ers CEO Al Guido said the players are “excited to reunite with the Mexico Faithful.”
The 49ers are one of 10 teams that hold marketing rights in Mexico as part of the league’s Global Markets Program, an initiative to build brand awareness and fandom beyond the U.S.
Media reports have floated NFC West rivals such as the Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Rams, as well as the Miami Dolphins, among potential opponents for the 49ers.
The 49ers will become the first team to play two international games in nonconsecutive weeks in a single season. In addition to the Mexico City game, they are slated to face the L.A. Rams at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Week 1 of the 2026 season on either Sept. 9 or 10.
With reports from NFL.com, ESPN.com.mx, El Financiero and AS México
