The game, scheduled for Sunday, will be the first NFL regular‑season contest ever played at the Maracanã, the historic venue best known for soccer, and will feature quarterback Lamar Jackson’s Ravens against Dak Prescott’s Cowboys.
NFL Brazil general manager Luis Martinez told Sky Sports that Brazil’s vibrant culture – from samba and caipirinhas to iconic landmarks such as Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf Mountain – offers a “unique” backdrop for the league and that the league hopes fans will experience the NFL “at least once” in the country.
The Rio showdown follows the NFL’s debut in Brazil in September 2024, when the Green Bay Packers played the Philadelphia Eagles at São Paulo’s Corinthians Arena, and a second game there in 2025 featuring the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs. The league has now committed to a minimum of three regular‑season games in Rio over the next five years.
Rio joins a record slate of nine international games for the 2026 season, alongside new host cities such as Paris and Melbourne, the latter of which recently saw 100,000 fans watch the 49ers versus the Rams at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Beyond the on‑field action, the NFL is staging a series of community events in Rio, including a Guinness‑World‑Record attempt for the largest jersey sculpture on the beach, a female under‑15 flag‑football tournament, watch parties, influencer activations, and a family walk‑run series on the lagoon.
Martinez emphasized the league’s focus on youth, noting that flag‑football tournaments for under‑15 girls, under‑14 co‑ed, and under‑12 co‑ed teams will feed into a national program that could eventually select Brazilian representatives for international competition.
The Cowboys arrive with a 1‑1 record after a 37‑20 victory over the Washington Commanders, while the Ravens also sit at 1‑1 following a 24‑17 loss to the New Orleans Saints, setting up a tightly contested matchup in front of a crowd expected to be “the loudest and biggest from an international game,” according to Martinez.
The Rio game is part of the NFL’s broader strategy to grow American football in a soccer‑dominated market, leveraging cultural tie‑ins and community outreach to build a lasting fan base in Brazil.