Why the Lions of Detroit might be able to play in Brazil within 2024
The NFL said on Wednesday that there will be an international game in São Paulo in 2024. The sides for that game haven’t been named yet, but it makes sense that the Detroit Lions might prevail.
To begin, let us look at the Miami Dolphins. The NFL started an international market rights program at the end of 2021.
This program gave teams access to certain parts of the world for special marketing possibilities. The Dolphins are the only team that has claimed Brazil so far, which makes them the favorite to play for the 2024 game there.
In most cases, the NFL picks the “home” team in an overseas game from the conference that has an extra home game.
Each NFC teams will play there ninth home game in 2024. So, it makes sense that if the Dolphins choose to play Brazil, it will probably be on the road against an NFC team.
The NFC North team is chosen by where they finish in their division. In 2023, if the Dolphins win the AFC East, they are going to face the NFC North champion. They will play the second-place NFC North team if they come in second.
Well, the Lions or Dolphins both have two-game leads across their divisions with four games left in the regular season. It’s likely, but not certain, that those teams will play each other in 2024.
Along with the fact that the African Lions haven’t played a foreign opponent since 2015, this pick makes sense. But don’t buy your tickets just yet—an announcement probably won’t come for a few months.
On Wednesday, the league told the owners meeting in the Dallas area which the game will take place at the Arena Corinthians within Sao Paulo, Brazil.
It can hold almost 50,000 people and was the site of the 2014 World Cup as well as the 2016 Olympics.
In this year’s NFL season, the first two games were held in Frankfurt, Germany. The next three games were held in London. Also, five are planned for 2024, with three in London, one in Germany, and one in Brazil.
As part of a plan to get more fans from other countries, the league gave home marketing rights to teams in several countries during the December owners meets two years ago. In Brazil, only Miami has these kinds of rights.
Commissioner Roger Goodell said, “Bringing the NFL to new continents, countries, and cities within the world is a key part of our plan to continue to grow the game around the world.”
In 2024, the National Football League will host its first regular-season game in South America, in Brazil. This is part of the league’s ongoing efforts to make global growth a top strategic goal.
It will be the first game ever played in Brazil. It will happen in São Paulo at the Corinthians Arena, which is home to the Brazilian soccer club Sport Club Corinthians.
In 2014, the FIFA World Cup took place there, and in 2016, the Summer Olympics opened there. The NFL is going to have played matches on five of the world’s seven continents after this game in South America.
“Bringing the NFL to new continents, countries, as well as cities around the world is a critical element of our strategy to continue to grow the game globally,” stated Goodell.
“Brazil has become an important market for the NFL, and we can’t wait to play in Brazil and São Paulo to the first time in 2024.”
We are excited to work with the city of São Paulo, SP Turis, as well as Corinthians Arena to give this growing group of passionate fans a world-class game-day experience.
In 2024, five regular-season games will be played outside of the United States. The game in São Paulo is one of them.
As part of their partnership, London will hold three games. Two will be at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as well as the third will be a home game for the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium.
For the fifth game, the NFL will be back in Germany for the third year in a row, this time at Allianz Arena in Munich.