In an effort to grow their game globally, the National Football League is expanding into uncharted territory.
According to a press release from the NFL League Office, the league announced Wednesday that it will play a game in São Paulo, Brazil, during the 2024 regular season, as part of its International Series. The game will mark the first time the NFL plays a game in South America, as it continues to expand the game beyond the United States.
With today’s announcement of next season’s game in Brazil, the NFL will have played a regular or preseason game in 5 of the 7 continents. Africa and Antarctica got next pic.twitter.com/Gd3tQDOUvK
— Brian McCarthy (@NFLprguy) December 13, 2023
With this thrilling announcement, the NFL now has (or soon will) have played games in five of the seven continents, with the only two that haven't yet received a game being Africa and Antarctica.
Wondering how the NFL decided upon São Paulo? Well, Sports Illustrated reported on Tuesday that there was a vote taking place among league officials, regarding which cities and countries the NFL should expand to in 2024. Among the finalists were two Brazilian cities — São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro — along with Madrid, Spain.
Perhaps Brazil became the decided destination because, as we already know, the NFL has been establishing a foothold in Europe for years now — including games this year, in the both United Kingdom and in Germany. While South America, on the other hand, hasn't received any NFL games to this point.
It's also being reported that the 2024 game will take place in São Paulo's Arena Corinthians stadium (called Neo Química Arena, in Brazil). This iconic site is home of the Brazilian soccer team SC Corinthians, hosted World Cup matches in 2014, and can hold just under 50,000 fans. In other words, it's the perfect fit for an NFL game.
Now the question becomes which teams will be playing in Neo Química Arena next year. Luckily for us, there has already been some speculation on that front, as well — with the belief that it's going to be an NFC team who'll sacrifice a home game to participate. In fact, the Dallas Cowboys are considered a frontrunner to serve as the home team in the game. If the NFL is going to grow America's game, they might as well do so with America's team.
Perhaps by this time next year, the NFL will be seeking stadiums in Africa and Antarctica, as well, and therefore expanding into all seven continents. Why stop in São Paulo?
