São Paulo, Brazil – The United States’ National Football League (NFL) announced on Wednesday that it will hold its first-ever game in Brazil in 2024.
As part of the league’s international expansion aims, owners from the 32 teams voted to host a regular season game for the 2024/2025 season in São Paulo, the country’s largest city.
São Paulo Mayor Ricardo Nunes was in Dallas, Texas for an owners meeting Wednesday where the announcement was made. In Portuguese, the mayor celebrated the event and what it represents for the city.
“I’m very happy to be here in Dallas, we’ve sealed this partnership, the contract, that there will be an NFL game in São Paulo in 2024, it’s the first time this important game will be played in South America and it will generate a lot of jobs, a lot of income,” said the mayor.
The Neo Química Arena, better known as Arena Corinthians and home to São Paulo’s storied Corinthians soccer club, will host the event. The stadium seats around 49,000 fans and is located on the east side of the city. The venue played host to other major international sporting events, including the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.
The stadium was reportedly chosen by the NFL over other stadiums in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the country’s second largest city.
It is yet to be announced which NFL teams will play in São Paulo, but according to ESPN, the Miami Dolphins are a probable pick due to their already-established commercial relations with the Brazilian market. The 2024/2025 season schedule is set to be released next year.
