NFL to Play in Brazil in 2024, Expand to 8 International Games in 2025

The NFL will play its first ever game in the country of Brazil in 2024, the league announced on Wednesday.

The participants in the game have not yet been announced. It will be the first regular-season game played in South America and the first regular-season game played anywhere in the Southern Hemisphere.

“Bringing the NFL to new continents, countries and cities around the world is a critical element of our plan to continue to grow the game globally,” commissioner Roger Goodell said in a press release. “Brazil has established itself as a key market for the NFL, and we are excited to be playing in Brazil and São Paulo for the first time in 2024. We look forward to working with the city of São Paulo, SP Turis and Corinthians Arena to deliver a world-class game day experience for this passionate and growing fan base.”

The game will be played in São Paulo, Brazil, at Arena Corinthians, the home of the soccer club SC Corinthians. The partially enclosed stadium seats 49,205, though it was expanded to over 68,000 during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The stadium also hosted the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2019 Copa América.

The game in Brazil will be one of five international games in 2024, with three games in London and one in Munich, Germany. 

The NFL schedule rotation means that NFC teams will be the designated home teams for international games in 2024 and thus be forced to give up a home game. Specific matchups will not be announced until the spring.

Only one team has an international marketing agreement in Brazil, the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins are scheduled to play at the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks, and one team to be determined from the NFC North, among their 2024 NFC opponents. The Steelers are scheduled to visit the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and a team from the NFC South in 2024. The Steelers appear unlikely to be selected to play in Brazil.

Brazil is considered and important potential future market for the NFL, with 38 million fans, according to NFL metrics, which makes it the second-largest international audience, behind Mexico.

The NFL is expected to return to Mexico in 2025, after renovations are complete on Estadio Azteca, the stadium the league has a partnership with in Mexico City. It is being renovated to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

RELATED: It Looks Like the Steelers Could Play in Mexico City in 2025

The Steelers have international agreements in Mexico and Ireland and have not yet hosted an international game under the new league rules that require a team to do so — and give up a home game — once every eight years. The Steelers have played one regular season game internationally, losing 34-27 to the Minnesota Vikings at Wembley Stadium in London in 2013.

The NFL also announced on Wednesday that the league will be expanding the NFL International Series to eight games per year beginning in 2025. No club will be required to play more than one international game in a season if they don’t want to, and international games will be all be scheduled before Week 14 of the season.