The NFL heads to South America. Fans have known about the NFL’s latest international adventure since mid-December, but Commissioner Roger Goodell shed more light on what to expect during his Super Bowl press conference on Monday.
The league has pushed to expand its international presence, with games in Mexico City, London, Frankfurt and Munich. Despite rumors about another European city joining, the NFL is headed to São Paulo, Brazil, for the 2024 season.
“We are incredibly excited about our growth globally. We are convinced that we can be a global sport in the near future,” Goodell said Monday.
Here is the latest information on the NFL game in Brazil 2024, the league’s first in South America.
NFL in Brazil, explained
Goodell shared two new details about the Brazil game during Monday’s press conference.
To start: The game will take place on Friday, September 6, during the first week of the season, marking the first time the NFL will have a Week 1 game on a Friday since 1970.
Goodell also made it clear who will be participating in the contest, at least to one fan base. Eagles fans will have to travel to South America to see their team open the season, as Philadelphia will be the host team in São Paulo. The opponent has not yet been announced.
“We’ll do it on our opening weekend, which is an unusual and different approach than what we’ve done so far,” Goodell said. “We think this is giving us the ability to access more fans not only here in the United States, but globally and I think it’s going to be a huge success. We’re excited.”
The match will be played at the Corinthians Arena, with capacity for about 49,000 people.
An NFL on a Friday doesn’t happen often. Due to the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, the Fridays and Saturdays between the second Friday in September and the second Saturday in December have been protected for high school football to ensure that the NFL does not attempt to compete with the games of the local high schools.
Since the game will now take place on September 7, it doesn’t fall in that window. Since the start of the 1970 season, there have only been 12 NFL games on a Friday. Only once (1970, Rams vs. Cardinals) did the game occur in Week 1.
São Paulo time zone
NFL fans have become accustomed to International Series games being played early on Sunday mornings to accommodate European time zones. That won’t be a problem for the game in Brazil.
Sao Paulo is one hour ahead of Eastern Time, so if the match starts at 8:30 pm BRT, soccer fans on the east coast can expect it to start at 7:30 pm ET, while Fans in California can expect it to start at 7:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time.
