The NFL's historic first-ever regular-season game in Australia may have some scheduling issues to overcome

The American Football fixture at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2026 - featuring the Los Angeles Rams - is likely to clash with the opening week of next year's Aussie Rules finals series.

But the AFL has backed the deal after being involved in the negotiations - an obvious fix would be if the NFL game was played at the MCG during the AFL's bye round, before the finals start.

It is the first new major sporting event announcement for the Victorian Government since the botched Commonwealth Games project ... and is a multi-year commitment to play regular-season games in Melbourne.

Fifty-five regular season NFL games have been played around the world throughout the league's history.