With PSG's match cancelled amid unrest, Aaron Rodgers insists the NFL's Paris debut between the Steelers and Saints is going ahead because it's safe.
The NFL's push to take American football to the world is facing a stress test in Paris. Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers says the league's first regular-season game in the French capital will go ahead on Sunday, because the NFL would have scrapped it if conditions were unsafe.
Rodgers spoke on Friday as Paris remains on edge. France saw some of its worst urban unrest in years over the past weekend, and violent protests led the US to issue a security warning for American fans heading to the city. Local football has felt the impact too, with PSG calling off their own Sunday match as tensions escalated.
President Emmanuel Macron responded on Thursday by tightening restrictions on protests, with authorities worried that demonstrations planned for Saturday could turn violent. That leaves the Steelers and Saints preparing for a landmark debut under a heavy cloud of uncertainty.
For global sports fans, including the growing NFL audience across Africa and the diaspora, the game is a reminder of how far American sport is stretching beyond its home turf. Expansion brings spotlight and opportunity, but it also ties the league to the realities of the cities it visits. All eyes now turn to Paris to see whether Sunday's kickoff goes off without a hitch.
