Earlier this year, the NFL announced that it would return to Mexico in 2016 for the first regular season game played south of the border in more than a decade.
But before the Oakland Raiders and Houston Texans square off at Azteca Stadium next fall, a couple San Francisco 49ers traveled to Mexico to promote the game on a grassroots level.
Shayne Skov, a San Francisco native who grew up in Guadalajara and speaks fluent Spanish, recruited fellow 49ers linebacker Corey Lemonier to help host a football camp for kids in Mexico City last weekend.
Skov first learned how to play football in Mexico and returns every year to give back to the community.
"It is difficult to get to the NFL, but we have seen in recent years several Latin players who have had a chance," Skov told a local newspaper. "I believe that with the growth of the sport, we will see more."
The 49ers were involved in the last NFL regular season game in Mexico, a 2005 matchup with the Arizona Cardinals.
Below is a roundup of social media posts from Skov and Lemonier's recent experience.
