Report: NFL plans to host a Miami Dolphins game in Brazil in 2024
Brazil might soon receive the first NFL game in South American history. And, according to ESPN Deportes reporter John Sutcliffe, the initial plan is for the Miami Dolphins to play a game in the first week of the 2024 regular season in São Paulo. Reporting for ESPN Brazil, Sutcliffe said that the NFL would like […]
Brazil might soon receive the first NFL game in South American history. And, according to ESPN Deportes reporter John Sutcliffe, the initial plan is for the Miami Dolphins to play a game in the first week of the 2024 regular season in São Paulo.
Reporting for ESPN Brazil, Sutcliffe said that the NFL would like to make an early season game in Brazil because of “the logistics, the TV trucks, everything would be better in week 1."
The Miami Dolphins have exclusive Brazilian marketing rights following the decisions of the Global Markets Program, so there's an easier connection. Moreover, the Dolphins had a Brazilian player on their practice squad for three years. Offensive and defensive lineman Durval Queiroz Neto spent time with the team via the International Pathway Program. He appeared in preseason games, but was never a member of the active roster.
International history
The NFL has made international games in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Mexico. Canada has received several games in its history, but hasn’t hosted a regular season game since 2013. Japan, Sweden, Ireland, and Australia have already hosted preseason games as well.
Brazil has been a growing market for football since the 2010s. The sport has gone through a significant boom in popularity, and it's one of the biggest NFL markets outside of North America.
NFL representatives visited several stadiums in Brazil over the last few months. NeoQuimica Arena, of soccer club Corinthians, is expected to host the game in São Paulo. It was built before the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Morumbi and Allianz Parque, also in São Paulo, and Maracanã, in Rio de Janeiro, were visited by the league as well.
It makes more sense for the NFL to organize regular season games than preseason games outside of the United States, because rosters are smaller.
It's also smart for the league to send to Brazil a game early in the season, because the Southern Hemisphere's spring starts in September, and it might become too warm to play football. Furthermore, at that time of the year, there is only a one-hour difference in the time zone between the US East Coast and Brazil.
The NFL announced that it was studying to add more international games in Brazil or Spain. The league hasn't officially decided in which country they will go first, but it makes sense to go to Brazil, making history in South America, while the European market has had games in London, Munich, and Frankfurt.
Dolphins 2024 schedule
The Dolphins will play the AFC East rivals twice next year, as always — New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, and New York Jets. The Patriots are a particularly interesting scenario, because their Brazilian fanbase is huge.
The schedule also has games against the AFC South (Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tennessee Titans) and the NFC West teams (San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams, and Arizona Cardinals).
The Dolphins will also face teams of the AFC West and AFC North that finish in the same position this year, and the 17th game is against an NFC North opponent that finishes in the same position.
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