Raider Nation Origin Stories: Meet Josh Gargiulo, the Raiders' International Fan of the Year

Josh Gargiulo, hailing from Canberra, Australia, has been on a mission to bring American football to the masses.

He was introduced to the game at the age of 18 when asked if he wanted to play "gridiron" by one of his friends in college. Getting on the grass led to a fascination for football, consuming anything and everything he could about this American sport.

In the process, he would watch NFL Films documentaries recommended to him. One in particular that caught his attention was an episode of "America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions," a docuseries highlighting each Super Bowl winning team and their journey to the title.

Gargiulo's favorite episode, which has led to a lifelong fandom ever since, was on the 1976 Oakland Raiders team that went 16-1 en route to their first Super Bowl win in franchise history.

"With 'Snake' [Ken Stabler] and all the characters from there, I fell in love," Gargiulo said. "And so from there it's been a love affair for me.

His love affair for the Raiders and the game of football led to him traveling over the Pacific Ocean on numerous occasions and integrating himself within Raider Nation. And now, he has been named the Raiders' 2024 International Fan of the Year out of a large pool of applicants from eight countries.

"It's never been a question of who I am, where I'm from, whether I'm rich, poor, what color – doesn't matter. You're accepted instantly and that's been the best part for me," Gargiulo said of his love for the fanbase. "Every time I've been to a Raiders game, every time I've conversed with a Raiders fan across the world ... regardless of where you are in the world or what's going on, you can connect with someone instantly through the logo and the Silver and Black. That's an awesome thing to be a part of."

Gargiulo stood out among the other finalists for International Fan of the Year through his involvement within flag football. After his playing career came to an end, he transitioned into coaching flag football. He's previously coached at the junior and senior men's level, but says he's most proud of his work coaching women's flag football since it's inception in Australia in 2012.

His future aspirations consists of becoming a coach on the Australian National Team now that flag football is being introduced in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.

"Within the last couple of years flag football, which we didn't have organized in the country, now is sort of exploding," he said. "And I'm sort of lucky to be at the forefront of that as well. It means a lot to me to be able to give back to our community, because it is a small community but it's growing here obviously.

"We talk about American football, it's like the fifth-most popular football in Australia, let alone the fifth-most popular sport. But I can see flag football in particular as being a way to expand our reach. The Super Bowl every year here is getting bigger and bigger and bigger."

But before any Olympic dreams come true, a different dream will for him.

As the Raiders' International Fan of the Year, Gargiulo will attend the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and announce one of the Raiders' draft selections on the main stage. The Ultimate NFL International Fan of the Year, selected out of the 32 club nominees, will be named onsite at the draft.

"The things that the Raiders have been able to do for me, the experiences that I've had, I couldn't do that if I wasn't a fan and if I didn't bring it every day of my life," he said. "Being able to travel the world, being able to experience the brilliant things that I've been able to experience – I owe it to the Las Vegas Raiders, I owe it to the Davis family and everyone that's worn the Silver and Black throughout the years."