For the past several years, efforts to expand the international influence of the NFL have grown with the league’s International Series of games. What began in 2007 as an annual trip across the pond has multiplied with games taking place in Mexico starting in 2016, Germany starting in 2022, Brazil starting in 2024, and Spain and Ireland last year. 2026 will see the introduction of France and Australia to the International Series.
There are other ways to expand the influence of the NFL across the world, though, and according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, former Giants and Cardinals offensive guard Justin Pugh will undertake new efforts in the aim of the expansion of the game. Pugh has reportedly accepted a role as commissioner of the Italian Football League.
Established in 1980, the IFL has completed 44 seasons of American football. In that time, the league has seen 12 different Italian Bowl champions, though just six teams account for 32 of the league’s championships. The league even held Italian Bowl XLII in 2023 at Toledo’s campus stadium, marking the IFL’s first game held outside Europe.
The league has seen its struggles to survive as blueblood franchises frequently defect for competing leagues around the country. In his written statement as the league’s new commissioner, Pugh pledged to accelerate the evolution of the sport across Europe by modernizing the league’s infrastructure, strengthening its governance, and elevating its standards. He asserts that his years of competition in the NFL will help him transform the IFL into a structured, credible, and forward-looking institution “capable of connecting Italian Football to the broader international ecosystem of the game.”
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