NFL says it was never close to moving Steelers-Saints game from Paris
The league says Sunday’s first NFL game in France remains on track despite unrest, with heightened security planned around the teams and fans.
The NFL said Tuesday, October 20, that Sunday’s Pittsburgh Steelers–New Orleans Saints game at Stade de France near Paris remains on schedule despite unrest in France. League executive Peter O’Reilly said the NFL had ‘never been close’ to moving the first regular-season game in the country, according to Yahoo Sports.
O’Reilly’s comments give a more specific answer about relocation than the league’s earlier statement that the game remained scheduled amid the protests. The NFL’s plans are ‘moving forward as planned,’ he said at league meetings. The game has yet to be played.
NFL security plans for the Paris game
O’Reilly said NFL personnel had been in Paris for about 10 days working on logistics. He said the league was coordinating closely with French authorities, the U.S. State Department and both teams, and reviewing its plans hour by hour. The league has contingency plans for every game, he said, but had not approached the point of moving this one.
He said the NFL was confident in its operational and security plans and expected a heightened security presence with local authorities around its events. He identified the safety of the teams, fans and others involved as the league’s priority. Those assessments are the league’s; they do not establish what conditions will be at the stadium on Sunday.
Unrest in France and the Steelers’ preparations
The game is being prepared against a backdrop of protests over rising living costs and conditions in schools. At least 2,400 people were arrested after clashes across France on Saturday, the Associated Press reported. Paris police said curfews around Place de la République and the Les Halles shopping district had restored public peace overnight and would remain in place as long as necessary. Those zones are in Paris; Stade de France is in Saint-Denis, outside the city.
Steelers safety Jaquan Brisker expressed some apprehension about the trip in comments reported by TribLive. Linebacker Jack Sawyer was more eager for the experience, saying he expected it to be fun after the Steelers’ trip to Dublin last season. The team beat the Minnesota Vikings 24–21 there, TribLive reported.
The Steelers were scheduled to fly to Paris on Thursday, Yahoo Sports reported. The Steelers-Saints matchup is the sixth of nine NFL regular-season games scheduled abroad this season, according to TribLive.
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Sources and context
- Amid civil unrest in Paris, NFL has 'never been close' to moving first game in FranceYahoo Sports (Jori Epstein; article cites the Associated Press for some unrest context)
- Steelers players aware of unrest in France, trusting of NFL to provide positive experience in Paris for gameTribLive
- France announces nightly curfews ‘for as long as necessary’ in Paris and other big citiesAssociated Press (republished by Tribune-Review/OwnLocal)
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.