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The Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers will meet in Melbourne for the first regular-season NFL game in Australia. The league announced the date and time for the historic matchup Wednesday.
The next clash between the NFC West rivals is scheduled for Sept. 11. Kickoff is set for 10:35 a.m. local time Friday – 8:35 p.m. ET Thursday. Details on how fans can tune in remain unclear.
“We are thrilled to kick off our season in Melbourne, enhancing an already historic moment for both the NFL and the Rams,” the Rams Head of International Stephanie Cheng said in a statement.
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The NFL shield logo on the field at SoFi Stadium on Nov. 25, 2024 in Inglewood, California. (Kirby Lee/magn Images)
“Every time members of our organization visit, including earlier this month, we see first-hand the growing excitement from folks across Melbourne in anticipation of this game.”
The game will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
A general view of the MCG during day one of the Fourth Test in the 2025/26 Ashes Series between Australia and England at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Dec. 26, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Morgan Hancock – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)
The NFL also confirmed plans to kick off the upcoming season on a Wednesday night, one day earlier than the traditional Thursday opener.
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When the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks host a yet-to-be-announced opponent on Sept. 9, it will mark just the second time in league history that a season has started on a Wednesday.
Sam Darnold of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl LX against the New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium on Feb. 8, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The only other time the first game of the NFL season was played on a Wednesday came in 2012 when the Dallas Cowboys visited the New York Giants. The game was moved from its usual Thursday spot that year because President Barack Obama was set to speak that night at the Democratic National Convention.
The NFL had played Week 1 games in Brazil the past two seasons on the first Friday night in September.
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While Wednesday games were played occasionally in the early years of the NFL, this will be just the fifth since 1950. There were two games on Christmas Day when it fell on a Wednesday in 2024, one in 2022 that was delayed because of COVID-19 and the 2012 opener.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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