The U.S. Decade of Sport: Why the NFL-U.S. Department of State Partnership Matters for the NCAA

Last week, the National Football League and the United States Department of State signed a memorandum of understanding to advance sports diplomacy. 

This agreement did not emerge in isolation.

It builds on groundwork the NFL had already established through its earlier partnership with the Big 12 Conference. 

Taken together, these moves signal a deliberate shift in how professional sport, college sport, and government align around long-term global engagement.

For years, the NFL's international games were enough. Hosting contests in London, Germany, or Mexico generated headlines, filled stadiums, and proved that American football could travel. 

Those efforts succeeded in building visibility and growing fandom.

What they did not create was an ecosystem. 

One-off events spark interest, but they do not produce systems that last.

The urgency is abundantly clear. 

The United States is in the midst of its Decade of Sport, a period defined by the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, the 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Los Angeles, the 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and the 2034 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. 

While those mega-events will command global attention for brief windows, the NFL is playing a different game.

Several international NFL games occur every year, creating recurring touchpoints rather than isolated moments.

Given the NFL-US Department of State’s MOU, the Big 12 partnership takes on added significance.

Rather than focusing only on where games are played, the NFL began investing in how the sport is developed, governed, and sustained across all levels. Their partnership with the Big 12 Conference will strengthen officiating pipelines, innovation, athlete development, and pathways that connect college football to the professional game.

The inaugural Union Jack Classic will feature two Big-12 programs in Wembley Stadium, home of the London Jaguars.

The partnership also communicates that American football’s global growth and long-term engagement required alignment within the U.S. college football ecosystem – particularly at the NCAA Division I level.

The State Department MOU represents the next phase of their strategy. By aligning with U.S. embassies and public diplomacy infrastructure, the NFL is extending an already connected system into the global arena. This partnership is not about exporting games alone. It is about embedding American football within diplomatic and cultural networks that operate year-round across regions and countries.

The agreement focuses on several core areas:

• Enhancing collaboration around international NFL games;

• Leveraging current and former NFL players and coaches as cultural ambassadors; and

• Expanding public diplomacy programming at U.S. embassies and consulates, including Super Bowl watch parties and flag football clinics for young international athletes.

The scale of this effort is already visible. 

Throughout 2026, ​​the NFL is using special "America 250" branded footballs to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States. 

For the upcoming Super Bowl LX, with NFL support, the State Department is hosting 150 events across more than 65 countries and five continents. 

This level of coordination underscores a central point.

Sport is no longer being used on an ad hoc basis to engage with the global community. 

Sport is being deployed deliberately, at scale, and through existing diplomatic channels.

College sport now sits at a similar defining point.

College athletics has often followed the NFL's global lead – most notably with international competition in new markets. 

However, foreign tours and international athlete recruitment have served as the primary markers of global engagement. These efforts matter and should continue, but they are no longer enough on their own.

Because activity does not equal strategy and presence does not automatically produce measurable outcomes.

Sport is unapologetically being positioned as a diplomatic tool. 

It’s happening. 

Now, college athletics must ask deeper questions. 

• How do we educate athletes about sports diplomacy and prepare them to serve as cultural representatives while competing abroad?

• How do we equitably support all international athletes who, upon returning home, become informal ambassadors of U.S. higher education and American sport?

• How do we leverage global sporting events such as the Union Jack Classic, Aflac Oui Play, and the Aer Lingus Classic as platforms for learning, exchange, and public good, rather than solely as revenue opportunities?

  
  

American football may be the headline, but flag football is what is carrying internationalization and diplomacy forward. 

Flag football offers a scalable and globally accessible pathway that connects youth participation, college sport, and international engagement in ways tackle football cannot.

What distinguishes this moment is intent. 

The NFL is not expanding globally out of altruism – they’re a business.

They are expanding because there are untapped global markets ripe for commercialization. 

Over time and through experimentation, the NFL learned that global relevance, legitimacy, and long-term growth depend on partnership and public alignment. 

College athletics faces a parallel reality, even if the scale looks different. 

The NCAA and its member conferences/institutions already sit at the intersection of education, sport, and global mobility.

College sport internationalization is an opportunity to generate revenue and expand global reach. 

It is also a chance to meaningfully support international college athletes and to shape how sport

functions as a vehicle for learning, exchange, and representation across borders.

The question is not whether college sport belongs in conversations about sports diplomacy.

The question is whether college sport is ready to build structure, with shared language and shared outcomes, to lead sport diplomacy forward. 

Revenue sharing, transfer portal, and NIL may be top of mind for many athletic directors and commissioners right now. 

But this decision is non-negotiable. 

Every college athletics department needs an internationalization strategy.

Because the future of college sport is global.

It's happening. We walking!

TFB

Walk With TFB. Walk With TFB specializes in international athlete development and sport internationalization. We support international athletes throughout their journey, from recruitment through career readiness, and help institutions develop comprehensive strategies for global engagement. If your athletic department or institution is navigating the complexities of international recruitment, compliance, athlete support, or building global partnerships, we can help. For more information, email Walk With TFB@gmail.com.