The Eagles will open the 2024 season Friday night in Brazil, commissioner Roger Goodell said during a press conference in Las Vegas.
This will be the first NFL game in South America and the first NFL season opener since Friday, September 18, 1970 when the Rams beat the Cards 34-13 at the LA Coliseum.
The match will take place on September 6 at the Arena Corinthia in Sao Paulo, which has a capacity of 47,252. It is the home stadium of the Corinthian Paulista football team and was used for football in the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.
The Eagles’ opponent and kickoff time will be announced at a later date.
“The Eagles organization is honored to be selected to play in South America’s first National Football League game,” Jeffrey Lurie said in a statement.
“The global growth of our sport is a priority for our league, so we welcome the opportunity to grow our fanbase around the world and bring Eagles soccer to the 38 million sports fans in Brazil. Brazil, one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world, is a global melting pot, and this year’s warm, vibrant And we look forward to seeing her welcoming surroundings.
This is considered an Eagles home game. In the year They are scheduled for nine home games in 2024, so they still have eight regular season games at the rink. In addition to the three divisional games, their road opponents in 2024 are the Falcons, Panthers, Browns, Packers, Jaguars and Steelers. The Jaguars play in London every year, so they are a potential opponent.
The last time the Eagles opened a season was Friday, September 24, 1948, when they lost to the Chicago Cards 21-14 at Comiskey Park. But three months later, they won their first NFL championship at Shibe Park.
The last time the Eagles played was on Friday, September 30, 1960, when they beat the Cowboys 27-25 in the Cotton Bowl. They won the NFL championship that year.
Overall, the Eagles are 2-5-1 on Fridays, including back-to-back losses to the Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Lions a week apart in 1935.
In the NFL, Friday games were common in the 1960s, but there have been only 11 since 1970, a Jets-Dolphins game last December 24 on Christmas Eve.
This will be the Eagles’ second away regular season game. In October 2018, they beat the Jaguars 24-18 at Wembley Stadium in London.
They played preseason games overseas in Mexico City in 1978, London in 1989 with the Browns and the Bills in 1991 and the Saints in 1993.
“This incredible first international game in South America demonstrates the continued expansion of our global footprint,” Goodell said.
In 2024, other international games with the “home” team will be in London (Beers, Vikings, Jaguars) and Munich, Germany (Panthers).
In the year Since starting international regular season games in 2007, the NFL has played 36 games in London, five games in Mexico City and two games in Germany.