NFL Hosts Its First Regular-Season Game at Maracanã

Overview

• The NFL staged the Dallas Cowboys vs. Baltimore Ravens regular-season game at Rio’s Maracanã on Sunday, September 27, 2026, with kickoff at 17:25 Brasília time and large crowds and celebrity attendees in the stands.
• League and NFLPA staff supervised a last-week hybrid turf reinforcement—synthetic fibers stitched into the surface—to improve traction and stability after weeks of concern about the pitch.
• City and league authorities ran a special transport and security plan that opened gates at 13:25, routed fans to specific metro stations, restricted bags to transparent ones and deployed roughly 360 military police plus 215 civil police agents.
• The event included major commercial and cultural activations: national anthems by Péricles and Kandace Lindsey, a halftime show by Pedro Sampaio and Ricky Martin, city projections on Cristo Redentor, new retail openings and an expanded NFL Experience.
• Officials announced a five-year agreement guaranteeing at least three NFL games in Rio through 2030 and signaled broader Brazil investments in themed stores, grassroots flag-football programs and regional rollouts to convert a reported 41 million local fans into sustained engagement.