The Grand Sumo Tournament is taking place this week at the Royal Albert Hall in London —only the second time in history that a professional sumo championship has been held outside Japan since 1991. It is a remarkable event for a sport so deeply rooted in Japanese culture and rarely seen beyond its national borders. This Sunday, the Los Angeles Rams will face the Jacksonville Jaguars in an NFL regular-season game in the British capital, part of an expanding and increasingly global model that brings official competitions to new audiences around the world.
More than 40 professional wrestlers are competing over five days of matches and rituals on a specially built dohyo. In American football, the NFL continues its International Series, staging games in London, Berlin, Dublin, and soon Madrid, as part of a broader strategy to extend the league’s commercial and media reach.
New stages for traditional competitions
The trend goes well beyond the United States. Major League Baseball (MLB) has established the MLB London Series, bringing regular-season games to Europe, while the NBA has hosted official fixtures in multiple cities under its NBA Global Games programme. In football, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) approved the relocation of the Villarreal vs Barcelona fixture from matchday 17 to Miami, pending authorisation from international governing bodies. In Italy, Serie A allowed AC Milan and Como to meet in Perth, Australia, as part of a similar global expansion strategy.
Super Cups have followed suit. The Spanish Super Cup and Italian Supercoppa are both played in Saudi Arabia under multi-year contracts worth tens of millions of euros. The Saudi government is expected to pay €138 million to host the Italian edition between 2023 and 2029, in addition to around €40 million per year for the Spanish competition.
The United States as the blueprint for global expansion
The major American leagues —the NFL, MLB, and NBA— pioneered this international model, blending sport, entertainment, and economic diplomacy.
Much of the operational and financial drive comes from U.S.-based companies such as Relevent Sports, which work with European leagues to organise matches abroad, supported by global broadcasters and sponsors seeking greater exposure in new markets.
This model relies on diversified income streams: selling broadcast rights in emerging territories, securing local sponsorships, and promoting sports tourism. Each event staged abroad strengthens a league’s global brand and its position in the international media landscape.
Leagues and federations highlight the benefits of this internationalisation:
– Higher revenues from TV rights and sponsorship deals.
– Growth of global audiences and brand value.
– Increased sports tourism and institutional presence in new regions.
The NFL projects that its international fixtures will generate more than $500 million in revenue during 2025. Meanwhile, European federations view this model as an opportunity to ensure financial sustainability and diversify their commercial portfolios.
Logistical and institutional challenges
Taking official competitions abroad presents logistical and regulatory hurdles —from infrastructure and transport to legal compliance. For sumo, the construction of the dohyo in London required 11 tonnes of clay imported from Japan, as well as local craftsmen to replicate the traditional setting. In football, the debate focuses on competitive integrity and the respect owed to domestic fans. “Playing an official match on another continent ignores the roots of the game,” said goalkeeper Unai Simón when asked about the possibility of playing in Miami.
If the Villarreal-Barcelona match eventually takes place in Miami, it would mark a turning point —the first official fixture of a major European league held outside its home country. At the same time, the NFL has already confirmed three games in London for 2025 and its first-ever matchup in Madrid, featuring the Miami Dolphins and the Washington Commanders. Both the Royal Albert Hall and Wembley Stadium stand as symbols of a growing phenomenon: a globalised sport that unites tradition, spectacle, and commerce under a shared strategy of media and economic expansion. Could this become the future template for competitions worldwide?
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