The Los Angeles Chargers today announced that they will host the Kansas City Chiefs in Mexico City at Estadio Azteca during the 2019 regular season.
The date and kickoff time for the game – a matchup of division rivals who finished the 2018 regular season with identical 12-4 records – will be announced in conjunction with the release of the full NFL schedule this spring.
The Chargers trip to Mexico City marks the team's seventh game played abroad in franchise history and third to occur in the regular season.
"We're honored to represent the NFL internationally for the second time in as many seasons," said Chargers President of Business Operations A.G. Spanos. "The opportunity to bring a divisional game to fans in Mexico City is exciting. The atmosphere at Estadio Azteca is going to be electric, and we look forward to adding to the storied history of one of the world's most iconic sporting venues."
In the first-ever NFL game played outside North America in August 1976, the Chargers faced the St. Louis Cardinals in the Mainichi Star Bowl in Tokyo, Japan. Nearly two decades passed before the team traveled abroad again.
From 1994 thru 1999, the Chargers played three preseason games as part of the NFL's American Bowl series: August 1994 vs. New York Giants in Berlin, Germany; July 1996 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers in Tokyo, Japan; August 1999 vs. Denver Broncos in Sydney, Australia.
Nearly a decade after playing the NFL's second-ever regular season game across the pond in London against the New Orleans Saints in 2008, last year the Chargers returned to Wembley Stadium in Week 7 of the 2018 regular season and defeated the Tennessee Titans, 20-19.
The Chargers' game in Mexico City against Kansas City is one of five international games slated to be played during the 2019 NFL regular season. The other four contests will all take place in London – two at Wembley Stadium and two at Tottenham Hotspur's new stadium.
