On Wednesday, the NFL announced that the Green Bay Packers will take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil to open the 2024 season. For Green Bay, this marks the second time they will play a game outside of the United States. Two years ago, the Pack played in London.
The battle between the two NFC contenders will be the first-ever game in South America. Set to be played in São Paulo, Brazil, on Friday, Sept. 6, the game will be the second contest of the NFL season. On Thursday, Sept. 5, the Kansas City Chiefs will open the season — maintaining a longstanding NFL tradition of the defending champion kicking off the new year.
Interestingly, this will be the first time an NFL game has been played on a Friday in Week 1 since 1970. The game will be played at the Corinthians Arena, the home to Brazilian soccer club SC Corinthians.
Last month, Green Bay president Mark Murphy voiced his concerns over the trip.
“We’re very supportive of international play,” Murphy said last month at the NFL annual meetings. “The one issue with Green Bay, though, is the size of our airport and the size of our runway, and we want to make sure that we’re not at a competitive disadvantage in terms of how long it’s gonna take us to get to Brazil. There’s some thought that we might have to bus to Milwaukee and then fly, just some of those things.”
“I think we’re either the first- or second-most popular team in Brazil,” Murphy said. “As we talked about, we’re kind of the people’s team. People really like the idea of a community owned team, with our history and tradition. This is very important for the league. The Packers are very popular in Brazil. If we’re chosen, we’ll gladly go.”
In a statement released Wednesday, Murphy seemed a bit more upbeat about the opportunity.
“We’re looking forward to being a part of this historic matchup against the Eagles in São Paulo,” Murphy said. “We’re excited to play in front of our devoted fans in Brazil and help build upon the international popularity of the NFL and the Packers. We had a great experience playing internationally for the first time a couple of years ago and we’re proud to be part of the league’s continued global growth.”
