Holding a training camp in Monaco would certainly help boost the Saints’ profile in France ahead of a potential game in Paris.
The NFL has visited the site of the Stade de France and is set to announce its next international games.
“We fully support that bid and would like to play in that game,” Bencel said. “If we get a game in 2026 or 2027, we would love to put on a big show in that.
“But we’ve done a lot of work in the market so we can move forward and be ready.”
The Saints are in talks with the French Federation of American Football (FFA) and plan to implement a school flag football program and a league structure in five or six cities across France ahead of any Paris games.
Benson also owns the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans, so the Saints leadership group already has some media partners in France and knows that “the NBA is more prominent than the NFL”.
“We did it with our eyes open,” Bensel said. “In the United Kingdom and Germany, they like the NFL. In France, not so much. We entered the market knowing this.”
The NFL is also discussing potential games in the Middle East and Asia, while Ireland and Spain have scheduled their first games this season.
Brett Gosper, the NFL’s head of Europe and Asia-Pacific, told BBC Sport that the league has “identified 13 markets that are our priority on a number of criteria, and our goal is to invest in those markets because we believe there is a fanbase there. We believe there are partners there that can grow our footprint.”
Gosper said international games “serve as a lightning rod for new fans in the new markets we’re expanding into.
“We just want to make sure that all the elements are in place to make those games successful when we enter those markets, and continue to work on them with a local presence as we move forward.”
And Gosper provided some positive news for any fans hoping to return to the Paris game, or to Dublin or Madrid.
“If we go into the markets, it will never be a one-off,” he said. “It may not happen every year, but it also won’t be a one-off.”
<a href