The Eagles are the host staff for the first-ever NFL sport in Brazil, the NFL introduced Monday.
The sport shall be performed Friday night time, September 6, in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest metropolis in inhabitants with about 12 million residents.
The Eagles will play an opponent to be decided. It will likely be the second-ever sport performed on a Friday. In 2023, the Jets performed the Dolphins on “Black Friday” the day after Thanksgiving.
“The Eagles group is honored to have been chosen to play within the first-ever NFL sport in South America,” Eagles chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie stated in an announcement. “With the worldwide progress of our sport being a high precedence to our league, we embrace the chance to develop our fanbase all over the world and convey Eagles soccer to the 38 million sports activities followers in Brazil.
“One of many world’s most culturally numerous nations, Brazil is a world melting pot. We sit up for experiencing its heat, vibrant and welcoming surroundings later this 12 months.”
The Eagles final performed abroad in 2018, after they beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 24-18 in London. Final season, the NFL issued a directive that it desires its groups enjoying an abroad sport no less than as soon as each 4 years.
The NFL is planning to have as many as eight abroad video games starting in 2025. The NFL can do that after going to a 17-game schedule in 2021. That enabled the AFC and NFC to alternate between having an additional residence sport every season.
It is the NFC’s flip with the ninth residence sport in 2024. There shall be 5 worldwide video games in 2024, with three in London (Jacksonville, Minnesota and Chicago are the host groups). Carolina will host a sport in Munich, Germany.
The Eagles’ opponent within the Brazil sport, in addition to the remainder of the schedule, shall be introduced in Could. The Eagles are slated to play home games in opposition to NFC East foes Dallas, Washington and the Giants in addition to Carolina, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Inexperienced Bay and Jacksonville.
It is unlikely that the Eagles will face certainly one of its NFC East rivals in Brazil. And Jacksonville, which hosts a sport in London each season, is an unlikely candidate as nicely.
Since it is the NFL’s opening weekend, coming one night time after the Tremendous Bowl champion kicks off the season, there is a good probability the NFL want to showcase a marquee opponent steeped in historical past coming off a playoff season.
That would imply both the Pittsburgh Steelers or the Inexperienced Bay Packers. These groups, together with the Eagles, made the playoffs final season. The Packers upset the Dallas Cowboys within the wild card spherical earlier than falling to the San Francisco 49ers.
The Steelers misplaced within the first spherical to Buffalo.
Brazil has hosted main sporting occasions lately. It hosted the Olympics in 2016, the primary time it was in South America. It has additionally hosted a World Cup in soccer in 2014.
Rio de Janeiro was the host metropolis for the Olympics in 2016, however Sao Paulo hosted some occasions at its stadium, Area Corinthians, the place the Eagles will play. The listed capability of the stadium is 47,252, however it was expanded with momentary seating to 68,000 for the World Cup in 2014.
These seats had been then eliminated.
Sao Paulo ranks because the twelfth most populous metropolis on the planet. Its LGBT Pleasure parade held annually ranks second on the planet to solely New York’s. Sao Paulo can be residence to the most important Arab, Italian and Japanese diasporas, in line with Wikipedia.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Comply with on X @Mfranknfl.