The U.S. National Football League has shared details about its first-ever game in Brazil. The Philadelphia Eagles were known to host their season opener in São Paulo, but now the NFL has confirmed that the Green Bay Packers will be the visiting team.
The Eagles-Packers São Paulo game will kick off on September 6. “The Friday night 2024 regular-season opener in São Paulo will bring incredible energy – marking a historic moment for our sport internationally,” said Managing Director and Head of NFL International Gerrit Meier.
The game will be played at NeoQuímica Arena, a 49,000-seat stadium that hosted the opening match of the 2014 World Cup — and home ground for Corinthians, one of Brazil’s most popular soccer teams.
“The match-up between the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles is an extremely exciting moment for the city of São Paulo,” said São Paulo Mayor Ricardo Nunes — who stands for re-election later this year. “These two franchises will certainly play a historic game, bringing great global visibility to our city and assisting in our efforts to generate jobs and economic impact.”
Despite its strong association with “soccer” abroad, Brazil boasts the third-largest NFL fan base in the world. According to a study commissioned by the league, the NFL has roughly 38 million fans in the country. Moreover, Google Trends data reveals a significant surge in interest in the sport.
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The audience for Super Bowl LVIII, when the Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers on February 11 for their third title in five years, went up by 19 percent compared to the previous year — when 2.5 million Brazilian fans had watched the title game.
The first game ever broadcast in Brazil happened in 1969, and it wasn’t live. The sport would be featured on Brazilian television again only in the late 1980s and during graveyard hours. ESPN Brazil began featuring big NFL games in 1992—and the league slowly grew as an important regular feature of pay television.
The NFL, however, still doesn’t threaten more traditional sports — its highly specific rules still act as a barrier.
According to the Brazilian national confederation of the sport, there are at least 130 NFL-inspired teams (mostly amateur, with an average roster of 60 players). However, traditional clubs have invested in the sport, bringing players from less prestigious leagues in the U.S.
Brazil’s first nationwide American football tournament was held in 2009. Created by a former ESPN commentator, the Touchdown Tournament was an eight-team league that, despite its small size, drew some media buzz and investors. Among these investors was Luís Cláudio Lula da Silva, son of former president Lula.
The league died six years later after a Federal Police raid (investigators thought Mr. Silva used the tournament as a front to launder money). Today, a 32-team spin-off league still exists.
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