RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL \u2014 Sept. 26, 2025 \u2014 <\/b>The National Football League today announced a multiyear commitment to play a minimum of three regular season games over five years in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil beginning in 2026, as the NFL prioritizes global expansion and takes its international games to new cities around\u00a0the\u00a0world.<\/p>\n
With more than 36 million NFL fans across the country, the league will again return to Brazil in 2026 to play its first regular season game in Rio at Maracan\u00e3 Stadium.<\/p>\n
\u201cBuilding on the success of the games in S\u00e3o Paulo, we could not be more excited to play in one of the world\u2019s most iconic cities \u2014 Rio de Janeiro,\u201d said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. \u201cWe look forward to working closely with our city and state partners in Rio along with the historic Maracan\u00e3 Stadium to deepen our ties to the tens of millions of fans in Brazil and across South America.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe National Football League’s multiyear partnership with Rio, a vibrant city where people want to be, is a perfect match,\u201d said Mayor of Rio de Janeiro Eduardo Paes. \u201cIt will be a historic event, as NFL games will be included on our city’s official calendar. I’m looking forward to seeing an American football game at Maracan\u00e3, the most iconic temple of\u00a0world\u00a0football.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are delighted to announce that Maracan\u00e3 Stadium will host a regular-season NFL game next year in Rio de Janeiro,\u201d said Governor of the State of Rio de Janeiro Cl\u00e1udio Castro. \u201cBrazil is now the second-largest consumer of American football outside the United States, and thousands of tourists and sports fans have dreamed of experiencing this event at the world’s most famous stadium. Bringing the NFL to Rio is a milestone that will boost tourism, create jobs, stimulate the economy, and show the strength of our state as an international sports\u00a0destination.\u201d<\/p>\n
The NFL has played two games in Brazil (2024: Packers-Eagles; 2025: Chiefs-Chargers) in S\u00e3o Paulo at Corinthians Arena and will now expand its presence across the country to Rio.<\/p>\n
Most recently, the 2025 NFL S\u00e3o Paulo game drew a crowd of 47,627 fans at Corinthians Arena on Sept. 5 during the league\u2019s 2025 Kickoff Weekend. The Los Angeles Chargers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 27-21.<\/p>\n
In addition to regular season games, the NFL is committed to growing the game at every level in Brazil engaging with fans year-round through partners, programs and initiatives, including NFL Flag and community events.<\/p>\n
Fifty-six regular season NFL games have been played internationally throughout the league\u2019s history, with Frankfurt, London, Mexico City, Munich, S\u00e3o Paulo and Toronto hosting games to date. As part of the 2025 International Games and following the game in S\u00e3o Paulo, Dublin, London, Berlin and Madrid are set to host games in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
In 2026, Melbourne, Australia will also stage a game for the first time at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in the league\u2019s inaugural regular-season game on the continent.<\/p>\n
For news about the 2026 NFL Rio game and to sign up for ticket information, visit nfl.com\/RioGame2026ROI<\/a>.<\/p>\n Playing teams, along with game date and kickoff time, will be announced at a later date.<\/p>\n To stay up to date on all things NFL Brazil, follow @nflbrasil on Instagram<\/a>, X<\/a> and TikTok<\/a>.<\/p>\n About the NFL in Brazil<\/b><\/p>\n International growth is a key strategic priority for the NFL and its 32 clubs. As the league continues to expand into new markets,\u00a0Brazil\u00a0holds the NFL\u2019s second highest international fan base, home to more than\u00a036 million fans\u00a0and an official NFL office based in S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 showcasing an ongoing commitment to the market.<\/p>\n Brazil hosts extensive NFL Flag programming, the NFL\u2019s owned and operated flag football program, allowing young athletes in schools across S\u00e3o Paulo and Rio to compete with peers across the 12U, 14U and 15U age groups and to travel to NFL Flag tournaments in the U.S. and beyond.<\/p>\n Through the\u00a0NFL\u2019s Global Markets Program, the Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles hold marketing rights in Brazil, supporting a range of media and brand partnerships that continue to build the league\u2019s presence and fanbase across the region.<\/p>\n With the addition of the 2026 NFL Rio game, Brazil will have hosted three regular-season NFL games (2024: S\u00e3o Paulo, 2025: S\u00e3o Paulo; 2026: Rio).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NFL In Brazil – League Makes Multiyear Commitment to Playing Regular Season Games in Rio at the Iconic Maracan\u00e3 Stadium League to Partner with the City and State of Rio de Janeiro RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL \u2014 Sept. 26, 2025 \u2014 The National Football League today announced a multiyear commitment to play a minimum of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":81563,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-81561","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-featured-editorials"},"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/NFL-In-Brazil-Small.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peLffi-ldv","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81561"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81561\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81645,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81561\/revisions\/81645"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}