The NFL chose Brazil and the Neo Química Arena in Itaquera, São Paulo, as the venue for one of its regular-season American-football games. The stadium, known as the home of Corinthians, was selected after competing with Spain to host the event.
For the first time in history, a league game will be played on South American soil, a significant milestone in the NFL's global-expansion project. São Paulo thus joins London and Munich as hosts of games in the sport during the next season.
Representatives from the American league inspected Allianz Parque, Morumbi, and Neo Química Arena over the course of 2023 to assess whether these football stadiums met the league's requirements for hosting the event. Although Rio de Janeiro presented itself as a possible host, it ultimately lost ground to São Paulo in the competition.
The NFL chose Neo Química Arena because of the stadium's infrastructure, which was built for the 2014 World Cup. Corinthians's home ground has excellent locker-room facilities and room for almost 50,000 people, all seated as NFL standards require. The area surrounding the stadium and its proximity to the subway also weighed in the decision. The Corinthians-Itaquera station is less than one kilometer from the Arena's entrances, which would facilitate logistics and the movement of fans after the game.
Eagles vs. Packers at Neo Química Arena
Commissioner Roger Goodell announced that the historic NFL game in Brazil will feature the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers. Both teams have solid fan bases in the country and promise a technically high-level confrontation, keeping the contest fierce until the final moment. The event will take place on the evening of September 6 at Neo Química Arena in São Paulo.
São Paulo mayor Ricardo Nunes expressed his happiness about the NFL game to be held in the city. “The matchup between the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles is an extremely exciting moment for the city of São Paulo. These two franchises will certainly play a historic game, bringing great global visibility to our city and contributing to our efforts to generate jobs and economic impact ,” he comments.
In addition to the game in Brazil, the 2024-25 NFL regular season will also have four other international games, all in Europe. Tottenham Hotspur's stadium in England will host games involving the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings, while the Jacksonville Jaguars will play at Wembley Stadium. The Carolina Panthers, in turn, will face their challenge in Munich at Bayern's stadium.
Brazil, the NFL's “New Home”
Brazil, with its growing American-football fan base, is one of the NFL's leading international markets. Last season, the league held one of its largest official events outside the United States, “NFL in Brasa.” Held in São Paulo during the weekend of the Super Bowl between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs, the event attracted more than seven thousand spectators over two days of activities.
On social media, more than 2 million Brazilians are connected to the NFL's official pages in the country, placing Brazil second in the ranking behind only the United States. According to the Sponsorlink survey conducted by Ibope Repucom, the number of Brazilians who follow American football grew by an impressive 117% over the previous five years. Currently, around 33 million people in Brazil identify themselves as fans and follow the sport.
The choice to hold a game in Brazil is conclusive proof that the NFL recognizes the country's importance today. More than that, American football is one of the fastest-growing sports in Brazil, with an established league featuring teams from almost every state in the federation.
Growing Audience for NFL Games in Brazil
The audience for NFL games in the country is also a strong indication of the sport's importance here. During the previous season, ESPN recorded an increase of around 11% in the audience for the NFL's opening round compared with the previous 2022/23 season.
At the Super Bowl, the numbers were even more impressive. While broadcasting the Kansas City Chiefs' thrilling victory over the San Francisco 49ers, ESPN completely dominated the pay-TV landscape, securing a 76% advantage over Multishow, which ranked second during the time slot.
If we focus exclusively on sports channels, ESPN's advantage from holding the NFL broadcasting rights was even more significant: the Disney channel recorded a 294% audience increase compared with SporTV, which came second. In other words, ESPN reached almost three times its competitor's audience.
