Yahoo Sports The NFL could play a game in Brazil next season
IRVING, Tex. - The NFL could play a regular season game in Brazil next season, as the league targets a new overseas venue in its bid to broaden its international appeal.
Brazil is the favorite over Spain to be awarded the game, two people familiar with the deliberations said Tuesday, if the NFL moves forward with a tentative plan to play such a game in a new site next season.
Nothing is definite, a third person with knowledge of the matter said, until NFL team owners consider the matter. They're scheduled to hold a one-day meeting Wednesday at a Dallas-area resort and could approve the plan then.
The NFL has established itself as the nation's most prosperous and popular professional sports league but has fallen behind other leagues, particularly the NBA, in cultivating international fans and participants. The NFL has made a push in recent years to close that gap, focusing on England and Germany as its overseas hosts.
Now it could include Brazil, the world's seventh-most-populous country. NFL officials previously said they'd done site visits in Brazil and Spain to explore the countries as potential hosts of regular season games. They'd also mentioned France and Australia as prospective game venues.
The league is expected to play three games in London next season, two at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and one at Wembley Stadium involving the Jacksonville Jaguars. It is expected to play one game in Germany next season, and the game in Brazil probably would replace a second game in Germany in 2024.
The NFL and the owners have a standing resolution to play at least four international games per season over an eight-year span. That does not include the Jaguars' games in the U.K.
NFL leaders previously have told the owners to contemplate increasing the annual inventory of international games. With each team playing 17 games per season, some within the sport envision the possibility of each team ultimately playing eight home games, eight road games and one international game.
Alternatively, some have mentioned the possibility of eventually having at least one NFL franchise based in London.
The league also is expected to return to playing games in Mexico City in the future. The NFL put that on hold because of stadium renovations at Estadio Azteca.
NFL leaders have said they see the inclusion of flag football in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles as a vehicle to broaden the sport's international popularity.
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