Browns QB Deshaun Watson wants to bring American football to the Middle East

Tyler Greenawalt

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Browns QB Deshaun Watson wants to bring American football to the Middle East image

The NFL's quest for international expansion appears to be headed to the Middle East.

Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson recently visited Saudi Arabia, where he partnered with @NFLARAB to promote American football in the region.

"I had a nice time visiting Saudi Arabia and learned a lot about the original Saudi culture and society," Watson wrote in a social media post on Tuesday. "And I enjoyed watching Al-Nassar, Al-Al-Wali and Al-Hilal, Al-Zaim, and I heard a lot about the singing of Al-Ahly fans and Al-Ittihad. Special thanks to His Royal Highness Prince [Abdullah Bin Mosaad] for the hospitality and generosity And God willing, we will see the 🏈🏈 in Saudi Arabia soon 🙏🏾 May peace be with you!"

Watson added that to bring American football to the Middle East — whether as a flag football league or a tackle league — there needs to be an understanding of the game itself and the stories behind it to build a foundation of interest.

"What are the rules? What are the stories behind each team? I think the stories behind the players, the coaching staff, giving [the people of the region] something interesting to kind of look for," Watson said. "Once we can continue to do that and get people to understand how the game is played and why is it played a certain way, then we can kind of build from the ground up and build that foundation."

NFL's international presence

The NFL continues to spread American football outside the United States. The league has already played regular-season games in England, Germany and Mexico and will have a game in Brazil this season between the Packers and the Eagles.

Apart from games, the league granted global market rights to teams in other countries such as Canada, France, Ghana, Spain, Nigeria, Austria, Switzerland, Argentina, Colombia, Japan, South Korea, Australia, China, New Zealand and Ireland.

The league also hosted official NFL events in Africa and China.

Tyler Greenawalt

Tyler Greenawalt Photo

 

Tyler Greenawalt is a contributing writer for The Sporting News after stops at Yahoo Sports, USA Today Sports and Turner Sports. He’s worked in written, video, social media and augmented reality content since he graduated from Syracuse University in 2014. His favorite teams – the New York Jets, Orlando Magic and Tottenham Hotspur – always find new and exciting ways to disappoint him, and he consistently questions his fandom. You can follow his bad sports takes at @TyGreen14 on X.