The New England Patriots will embark on a trip to Munich, Germany this season. But Robert Kraft reportedly has his sights set on a more strategic location in the not-so-distant future.
Kraft is reportedly interested in playing a game in Scotland after the nation’s viral takeover of Boston and New England during the 2026 World Cup, according to Sports Boom.
Scottish fan metaphorically drank all of the Sam Adams in Boston while supporting the Scotland men’s national team’s first two games at Gillette Stadium, the home of the Patriots.
Scotland went 1-2, defeating Haiti in Foxborough, Massachusetts, before falling to Morocco at Gillette Stadium and Brazil in Miami.
Robert Kraft Wants the Patriots to Play in Scotland
GettyNew England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is reportedly looking to play a game in Scotland.
The NFL has had no issue with playing in Great Britain to date. The league has played regular-season games in London since 2007.
So, hoping to cash in on the fervor that Scottish fans started with their team’s games in New England, Kraft is eyeing a game in Scotland, perhaps as soon as 2027.
“Patriots owner Robert Kraft, wanting to seize on the connection the Boston area made with Scottish soccer fans who used it as a hub to watch their team play, has already let it be known he would be interested in playing a regular-season game there,” Jason La Canfora of Sports Boom reported Sunday. “While ESPN couches the interested as being in the very formative stages, the mere fact that it is already known while this tournament is barely at the halfway point is telling.”
Rival executives almost consider it a foregone conclusion that Kraft’s bid to land an international location will be in his preferred location.
“Come on, man, we all know that Kraft gets what Kraft wants with this stuff,” one GM told SportsBoom.
The Patriots are Trying to Enhance Their Global Stronghold Into Scotland
GettyMurrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh is likely to be the site of a future NFL game in Scotland.
The NFL is becoming a sort-of real life game of Risk, and the Patriots are hoping to grow their empire with a game in Scotland.
The Pittsburgh Steelers made the first pass at Ireland with their game in Dublin against the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 28.
Though Croke Park is not in the United Kingdom itself, Dublin does have easy travel from Boston, and the Steelers’ flag planting, thanks to the Rooney family’s Irish roots, could be a longterm boon for one of the Patriots’ AFC rivals.
So La Canfora noted the Pats aren’t the only group trying to get an international game in Scotland, which would likely be held at a rugby stadium in Edinburgh.
But Kraft and Co. are best positioned to add Scotland to their European marketing empire, which already includes Switzerland, Germany and Austria.
“Images of European soccer fans taking over MLB stadiums for games have NFL owners seeing dollar signs as well, as they have long understood they will eventually hit a saturation point with the appetite for their game domestically and thus keep pushing abroad,” La Canfora wrote. “The Patriots are one of the more powerful ownership groups in the game, with Kraft having commissioner Roger Goodell’s ear.”
Insider Details Potential Site for Patriots’ Future International Game