How Madrid Made Room for the NFL and La Liga on the Same Sunday

The NFL used Atlético Madrid’s stadium as a practice site when it first came to Spain in 2025. A year later, Cincinnati trained at the Spanish soccer federation’s complex in Las Rozas. Atlanta went to Real Madrid’s training ground in Valdebebas. Atlético needed its own field for Barcelona.

That was the first scheduling change behind Madrid’s Nov. 8 doubleheader. The Bengals and Falcons had a 9:30 a.m. ET kickoff at the Santiago Bernabéu, home of Real Madrid. Five and a half hours after that kickoff, Atlético was scheduled to face Barcelona at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano with first place in La Liga at stake.

Real Madrid had already played its league match on Saturday, beating Valencia 3–0 at Mestalla. Its home stadium staged the NFL game Sunday while the two teams at the top of Spain’s first division were due to meet across town.

Why the NFL teams trained in different places

Last year’s NFL visit fell during a FIFA international window. With no Atlético home match to work around, the Metropolitano could serve as a practice site during the visit by the Miami Dolphins and Washington Commanders. This time, the international break followed the La Liga weekend.

“They have a game this weekend, so we can’t use the Metropolitano,” Rafael de los Santos, the NFL’s director in Spain, told the Madrid sports daily AS in Spanish. He said the league saw an opportunity in sharing the weekend with Spanish soccer.

The teams’ training sites gave the Madrid press two places to cover the buildup. AS photographed the teams at their respective facilities and published an interview with Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow from Las Rozas on Friday. Its Sunday coverage paired player profiles with explanations of American football rules and the changes made to the Bernabéu field.

What the game changed around the Bernabéu

Madrid’s traffic plan anticipated roughly 83,400 people at the NFL game. It called for closing a stretch of Paseo de la Castellana between Nuevos Ministerios and Plaza de Cuzco, with four city bus routes diverted. The stadium perimeter closures began Saturday. The NFL opened gates three hours before kickoff to spread out arrivals.

Madrid installed oversize helmets for Cincinnati, Atlanta and the host city outside the Palacio de Cibeles four days before the game. The league also took parts of the event downtown. On Friday and Saturday, the NFL Experience in Plaza de España included flag football. NFL House in Palacio de las Alhajas displayed the Lombardi Trophy and Super Bowl rings. The league’s fan schedule shows how much of the Madrid program took place away from the stadium.

What was at stake across town

Barcelona entered the match on 30 points after 11 games. Atlético had 28 and had won seven league games in a row. A home win would move Diego Simeone’s team into first place. Barcelona had scored 46 goals, while Atlético had conceded eight, according to La Liga’s match center.

The two broadcasts also served different audiences. In Spain, the NFL arranged free coverage on Cuatro and DAZN, with streaming on Mediaset Infinity. The Atlético match was listed on Movistar LaLiga and Orange TV. North American TV and streaming listings are in The Sporting Page’s Madrid NFL watch guide. The Bengals–Falcons game center carries the score and box score.