The Vikings are headed to London for the fourth time next season. And for the first time since 2013, they’ll be giving up a home game to do so.
The NFL announced Thursday morning the Vikings will be one of four designated teams for international games in 2024, playing at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the second time in three years. The Vikings beat the Saints 28-25 in 2022 as the road team at Tottenham; in 2024, they’ll play as the home team.
“We are honored to once again represent the NFL in the continued effort to make the game of football more accessible globally,” Vikings owner and president Mark Wilf said. “We’ve seen tremendous international support of the Vikings with our previous three London games and with our successful bid to land the United Kingdom as a global market. Our focus will be on winning for the fourth consecutive time in London, along with replicating the incredible gameday environment we enjoy in Minnesota and creating a memorable experience for our partners and fans.”
The Vikings are the first team to win at all three London venues — Wembley Stadium, Twickenham Stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — and seemed a logical candidate to return in 2024 to the U.K., where they are one of six NFL teams with home marketing rights.
NFC teams have nine regular-season home games in 2024, and three of the four teams designated for international games in 2024 are NFC teams: the Vikings and Bears each will play games at Tottenham, while the Panthers will play in Munich. The Jaguars, who have played 11 games in London since 2013, will again play at Wembley Stadium next year.
The Vikings’ deal with the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority allows them to move three home games to international locations in their first 15 years at U.S. Bank Stadium. The team’s 2013 win over the Steelers at Wembley Stadium, in a game that originally was supposed to be played at the Metrodome, counts as one of the three games the Vikings could give up. The 2024 game, then, will be the second of the three allowed in the deal.
In addition to the division rival Bears, the Vikings are scheduled to play home games against the Lions, Packers, Cardinals, 49ers, Falcons, Texans, Jets and Colts, meaning they’ll play one of those teams in London.