Follow live coverage of the Philadelphia Eagles vs. Green Bay Packers in the NFL Brazil game today
Brazil will host its first NFL game as the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Green Bay Packers on Friday night.
Having staged the men’s World Cup (2014) and Olympic Games (2016) in the past decade, the South American nation is no stranger to huge sporting events.
“It’s an amazing opportunity to play the first ever NFL game here,” Packers quarterback Jordan Love said, as reported by packers.com. “I know there are a lot of fans here. It’s amazing to live here in front of you guys. I am very excited. We said that the other day – this is the Brazilian Super Bowl here, so we’re going to make it a great game for you.”
So where did the NFL decide to host the game later today? Why did they choose that place? And why was the traditional green of the Eagles and Packers kits a problem at the chosen stadium?
Where is the stadium for the Eagles-Packers game?
The Corinthians Arena, also known as the Neo Quimica Arena due to a sponsorship deal with a local pharmaceutical company, is in the city of São Paulo, in southeastern Brazil. São Paulo is the country’s most populous city with more than 11 million people – the most in the world outside of Asia.
As the name suggests, it is usually home to the men’s team of the Corinthians football (soccer) club. Their men’s team plays in the top league of the Brazilian game, Serie A.
Corinthians playing at the Arena (Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images)
The Eagles will be the “home” team for this game, although it is more than 4,500 miles (7,500 km) from their usual stadium – Lincoln Financial Field.
When was Corinthians Arena built and how many people can it hold?
It was built for the 2014 World Cup, with construction lasting three years, and staged the opening match of that tournament, which saw hosts Brazil beat Croatia 3–1, and five other matches. After the World Cup, the stadium became the home for Corinthians, whose men’s team won two league titles later. This season, however, they are in a relegation battle, 17th in the 20-team table with 13 games to go.
The ground was also a venue for football at the 2016 Olympics, also staged in Brazil, during which Neymar led the host nation’s men’s team to a gold medal.
In Brazil’s offer to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup, the capacity of the stadium is listed as 47,252. However, 63,267 were received as the attendance for the 2014 men’s World Cup semi-final between Argentina and the Netherlands. There were temporary seats added to the stadium for the tournament, although these were soon removed after that game, the last World Cup match played there.
In an NFL context, that higher figure would compare to the 67,594 capacity of Lincoln Financial Field and the 81,441 capacity of the home of the Packers, Lambeau Field. There are no current NFL stadiums with a capacity as low as 47,000.
Why did the NFL choose this stadium out of all those in Brazil?
As reported in this article by The Athleticsit’s mike jonesan international city looking to stage an NFL game must have a suitable venue. But considerations include much more than field conditions and seating capacity. A potential venue must be able to accommodate all the technological needs required to play and broadcast an NFL game.
Mike North, NFL vice president of broadcast planning, called the league’s IT department “the match line of defense — the first ones to kind of go into a venue investigation and try to figure out if the venue could actually handle it.”
Cities must also have adequate hotels, dining facilities and practice facilities to support two NFL teams, whose travel groups include squads of 53 players each, plus the coaching staff, support staff and team executives.
Then, other considerations come into play, North said: “Are there NFL football fans already there? Have they shown a recent trend of more interest, whether it’s through social media or video downloads or hat and jersey sales, or fantasy football attendance, or, perhaps most importantly, flag football attendance .”
The Eagles and Packers play Friday night (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
The NFL also needs to make sure the international venues have room in their calendars for their games – Corinthians played at home last Sunday but do not have a match this weekend due to football’s ongoing September international break. Their next event, also at home, is on Thursday, September 12.
The Eagles are “home” today because the NFL regular season consists of 17 games for each team.
Because of the odd number, the teams in the two parallel 16-club conferences that make up the league, the American Football Conference (AFC) and National Football Conference (NFC), have nine-game and eight-game home schedules on alternate years. , and in 2024, it’s the NFC teams’ turn to have nine. The NFL therefore selects its host teams for international games from clubs with an extra home game each season.
Reporting by Mike Jones
What is the problem with the green uniforms of the teams?
Both NFL teams in Brazil this week typically play in kits featuring their own distinctive shade of green. At the Corinthians Arena, on the other hand, that color is usually banned due to the team’s intense rivalry with fellow São Paulo club Palmeiras.
Corinthians go so far as to fine their players for wearing green. ESPN reported in 2021 that former Manchester City forward Jo wore green boots while playing for Corinthians and had to pay, despite believing they were turquoise blue.
As the “home” team today, the Eagles therefore decided to change to a black and white uniform for the first time, the same colors as the home kit of Corinthians.
You have NEVER seen this combo before@FanDuel | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/LUf7ZH2JdU
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) 30 August 2024
“We chose the color,” Eagles assistant general manager Jon Ferrari told ESPN. “We kind of looked… (Corinthians) are the host team, right? They’re black and white. That’s their color scheme. And everywhere everywhere in that stadium is black and white over there.”
The Packers risk getting snubbed because they will be wearing their traditional white, yellow and green uniforms. At least, the colors are similar to the gold and green seen on the national flag of Brazil.
Threads for Week 1 in Brazil#GBvsPHI pic.twitter.com/QUJ5gQ2K34
– Green Bay Packers (@packers) 30 August 2024
Where else will the NFL hold international games this season?
This opening weekend game will be one of five regular-season NFL games played internationally in 2024, with three in London (two at Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium, one at Wembley Stadium) in October and another in Munich, Germany the following month.
The 2024 International Schedule is set! 🏈🗺️@NFLBrasil | @NFLUKIRE | @NFLGermany
📺: NFL Schedule Release – Tonight 8:00 PM ET on NFLN/ESPN2
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/HMwi7SLZ8h— NFL (@NFL) May 15, 2024
“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 worldwide,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
NFL clubs approved a vote for up to eight international games in 2025, when it was already announced that the league would break new ground by playing at Spain’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium, home of 2023-24 Champions League final winners Real Madrid. The league has also hosted several regular-season games in Mexico in the past two decades.
(Above photo: The Corinthians Arena; Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images)
