SAO PAOLO: The National Football League breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy on Friday when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil.

For one night only, the land of Pele and 鈥楾he Beautiful Game鈥� will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo鈥檚 Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians.

The regular season fixture is part of the NFL鈥檚 increasingly ambitious plans to spread America鈥檚 most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures in London, Munich, Frankfurt, Toronto and Mexico City.

Spain will host a regular season game in 2025 at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, home of European football giants Real Madrid.

The NFL has said there are around 38 million American football fans in Brazil, of whom 8.3 million are described as avid. That makes Brazil the second largest international fan base after Mexico, according to the league.

The NFL has made it clear that it sees Brazil as a regular venue for games in the future, with Friday鈥檚 game effectively establishing a beachhead for the sport.

鈥淭he fundamental strategy is really a focus on becoming a true global sports property and growing the game and the fan base around the world,鈥� the NFL鈥檚 executive vice president of international events Peter O鈥橰eilly said.

鈥淲e鈥檝e seen when we鈥檝e gone to a market with a game like Germany a few years ago, where we鈥檝e committed to play, you鈥檝e seen the demand, the passion and then the impact.

No sport, however, is likely to dethrone football as Brazil鈥檚 national obsession, and Friday鈥檚 NFL game will be competing for attention with Brazil鈥檚 2026 World Cup qualifying game against Ecuador in Curitiba.

Yet the South American country has a long record of embracing American culture, with the NBA increasingly regarding Brazil as a key international market.

In the NFL鈥檚 case, the sport鈥檚 profile was also boosted by quarterback icon Tom Brady鈥檚 13-year marriage to Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen.

But the buzz around Friday鈥檚 fixture in Sao Paulo has not been shared by some of the participants, with Philadelphia players A.J. Brown and Darius Slay revealing that they had been advised not to leave the team hotel due to concerns over crime.

Slay said that while he was looking forward to the fixture, he did not want to go to Brazil.

鈥淭hey already told us not to leave the hotel. They told us we can鈥檛 do too much going on, because the crime rate is crazy,鈥� Slay said.

鈥淚鈥檓 like 鈥楴FL, why would you want to send us somewhere with a crime rate this high?鈥欌€�

Slay later apologized for the remarks, insisting he had not meant to cause offense.

鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to playing in your beautiful country,鈥� he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

In purely sporting terms, Philadelphia coach Nick Sirianni will be looking for a fast start from new signing Saquon Barkley, while hoping to see his team adjust following the retirement of center Jason Kelce and defensive tackle Fletcher Cox.

Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur meanwhile will look to rising star quarterback Jordan Love to lead a young Packers team to victory.