NFL dominates Maracanã and consolidates its investment in the Brazilian market

== sync, corrected by elderman == @elder_man

Before the Maracanã: Super Bowl of 2009, 60 rings in Rio and a fan base of 36 million

Bernardo Candal, 34, is a Brazilian NFL fan who started following American football by watching on television the Super Bowl of 2010, won by Pittsburgh Steelers.

A few weeks ago, he posed for photos with his wife and three-month-old baby in front of the 60 Super Bowl championship rings on display in Rio de Janeiro.

Brazil has a market of more than 200 million inhabitants and an NFL fan base of 36 million, according to the league's own estimate.

The series in the NFL calendar: for the third consecutive time, Brazil hosts a regular season game

For the third consecutive year, the NFL will hold a game of its regular season in Brazil. The previous two editions took place in São Paulo. This time, the stage is Maracanã, temple of football, and it will be the first time for the league in Rio de Janeiro.

On Sunday of the game, the mighty American football league will take over the stadium with Lamar Jackson's Baltimore Ravens and Dak Prescott's Dallas Cowboys as protagonists.

The expectation was already on the league's networks: on September 26th, 2018, the @NFLBrasil account published the call NFL + MARACA... with the image pic.twitter.com/YZIAornd3S.

The stage: Maracanã with more than 78 thousand seats, 1950 Pelé's 1,000th goal and 2016

With a capacity for more than 78 thousand spectators, the Maracanã has already been the scene of historical football events: the decisive match of the World Cup in 2004, won by Uruguay against Brazil, Pelé's 1,000th goal and the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in 2005.

The stadium now hosts an NFL game, and Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey sent a message to the fans that was videotaped alongside Dak Prescott and posted on social media: "I can't wait to see you there!

Aubrey, however, is not a stranger to football. Long before he became an NFL star, he played soccer and visited Brazil when he was part of a soccer academy in the United States. "I was 10 or 12 years old and trained in São Paulo. My whole club was there, we spent about two weeks", he recalled to the American press.

The kicker was drafted in the 2011 MLS Draft by Toronto FC and has played in the NFL since 2011.

The Brazilian fans: endurance, passion and marketing of the NFL in the country

Pedro Henrique Carvalho, head of communications for One Project, a company that does NFL marketing in Brazil, tells AFP that since Brazil is a football country there's still much resistance.

The store in Rio, the rings on display and the number of fans estimated by the league show that American football is trying to turn curiosity into habit.

International resume: Lamar Jackson, MVP and the game in London at 2023

Lamar Jackson, twice named the NFL's Most Valuable Player in 2019 and 2023, has played overseas.2023 In London at Tottenham Stadium, the Ravens quarterback led his team to a 24-16 victory over the Tennessee Titans with one touchdown and 21 pass completions on 30 attempts for 223 yards.

For Rio, Jackson said: "I'm excited". But he stressed that the trip to Brazil is a business trip.

The NFL's global tour: from Melbourne to Rio, and then London, Paris, Munich, Madrid and Mexico City

Melbourne was the first stop on the league's international tour this year, and after Rio its stars will pass through London, Paris, Munich, Madrid and Mexico City.

In this context, the game at Maracanã becomes a checkpoint: it is Brazil's turn to show whether their fan base can fill a stadium historically linked to football on a Sunday of regular season.

The debate on the pitch: rain, Flamengo, Fluminense and a speech by coach Brian Schottenheimer

The NFL game comes amid questions about the conditions of Maracanã's pitch, home to Copa Libertadores semifinalists Flamengo and Fluminense.

Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer expects everything to be ready: "I have no worries (...) We will have a field in proper condition".

However, there are "contingency plans", such as the option for players to wear boots with higher traction. The field therefore became one of the last subjects before the kick.

Where the game goes now: a Sunday at 5:25 p.m., two teams 1-1 and NFL in the temple of football

The match arrives at the Maracanã with two teams of retrospective 1-1, start at 5:25 pm (Brasil time), Ricky Martin and Pedro Sampaio show and more than 78 thousand seats available for a crowd that the NFL estimates at 36 million fans in Brazil.

After São Paulo hosted the first two editions, Rio becomes the new address of the league's regular season. It is also a time when the NFL tests how far American football space goes in the country of soccer: with storefront, rings on display, players with personal connection to Brazil, pitch critiques and the promise of a business game, not tourism.

He is a member of the San Francisco 49ers, where he plays as an offensive tackle. He played college football at Florida State University and was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft.