Monday in Mexico: Cardinals to play 49ers on MNF at Estadio Azteca in 2022
May 4, 2022, 6:19 AM
The American and Mexican flags are displayed on the field during the pre-game ceremony before the game between the Arizona Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers at Estadio Azteka on October 2, 2005 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)
(Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)
The Arizona Cardinals will host the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football for their international matchup in Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca.
The game is set to take place during Week 11 on Nov. 21.
The Cardinals in 2022 will host eight regular season games at State Farm Stadium, one neutral game in Mexico City and eight road outings.
The team was originally scheduled to play at Estadio Azteca as the home team for the 2020 season before the COVID-19 pandemic arrived. It was a requirement for teams hosting a Super Bowl to play an international game prior, and the Cardinals will host Super Bowl LVII in February 2023.
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The Cardinals took part in the NFL’s very first regular season game outside the United States on Monday Night Football in Week 4 of the 2005 season. Coincidentally, the Cardinals beat the 49ers, 31-14, in front of 103,467 fans at Estadio Azteca.
Last December, Arizona was granted an international home marketing area (IHMA) in Mexico following ratification by the NFL’s international committee.
The Cardinals have access to Mexico as an international market for “at least a five-year term, during which time a club will have rights to pursue activities in that international market that are consistent with what they can do in their domestic (home marketing area),” the team said in a press release last January.
Arizona is one of nine teams with a marketing footprint in Mexico.
The Cardinals franchise has played the first game outside of North America (1976 preseason in Tokyo vs. San Diego Chargers), the first in Europe (1983 preseason in London vs. Minnesota Vikings) and the first regular season game outside the United States (2005 in Mexico City vs. 49ers).
The NFL has five international games this season, with one in Mexico, three in London and one in Germany.
