Why Brazil has been chosen to host NFL regular-season game in 2024

The NFL will play a regular season game in Brazil in 2024 as the league continues to push its global growth ambitions as a major strategic priority.

The historic first game in Brazil will take place in São Paulo at the Arena Corinthians, and it will mark the first time the NFL makes a trip to South America.

The game will be one of five regular season games to be played internationally in 2024, with three games will be played in London: two at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the third a Jacksonville Jaguars home game at Wembley Stadium as part of their partnership. The fifth game will have the NFL back in Germany for a third consecutive year, returning to Allianz Arena in Munich. Designated teams for these games will be announced in early 2024 and details regarding the dates of games, matchups and kickoff times will be confirmed later in the year when the full 2024 schedule is announced.

It was also announced that the international series will expand to eight games in 2025.

So why are the NFL expanding the international series, and why specifically to Brazil?

The global game moves to new places

As part of the International Home Marketing Areas (IHMA) strategy, a pairing that allows the team to strategically market in the country by selling sponsorships, setting up fan clubs, creating alliances with local sports teams and more, the Miami Dolphins are the only team with a global market in Brazil, and it had been expected that a game would more likely take place elsewhere.

Discussions surrounding a potential game in Spain have been the focus in recent weeks, and it was expected that an announcement for a fixture there, rather than in Brazil, would come. They are still believed to be ongoing, as the league eyes a regular-season contest at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, the home of legendary football club Real Madrid.

But Brazil presents an important global market for the NFL. Pollster IBOPE Repucom published a study in February in which it said the NFL has more than 35 million fans in Brazil. In 2013, only three million Brazilians paid attention to the sport. That means that the country is the second-largest international fan base after Mexico.

Sao Paulo Mayor Ricardo Nunes led the Brazilian contingent that made a presentation to owners in Texas, and smiled widely as he held a football during a news conference.

“The right choice was made,” Nunes said through a translator. “With the game in Sao Paulo, Brazil will surpass Mexico as only behind the U.S. in terms of total number of fans.”

Does this mean we’ve getting closer to an international NFL franchise?

With more games, more countries involved and more of a focus worldwide, it feels like a team relocating, or adding a new team for a new international city, is a real possibility.

When asked whether the effort correlates with a desire to have an international franchise one day, Goodell gave some pushback last week, stating that while growing the game international is a key priority, he doesn’t “see that as much as expanding the number of franchises as I do expanding the opportunity for people who really just enjoy it.”

But ultimately, whether you like it or not, the NFL will go wherever the money is, and we’ve seen how valuable. The international market continues to grow and if an overseas team brings more people and money into the sport, then surely a move is a no brainer.

An overseas franchise feels closer than ever, and it is definitely something we’ll see talked about for years and years to come until it happens.