Maracana Stadium to stage NFL game in 2026: league

Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Maracana Stadium will host an NFL regular season game in 2026 as the league looks to expand its reach internationally, a statement said Friday.

The Maracana — the spiritual home of Brazilian football — will stage the first of at least three games set for Rio de Janeiro over the next five years, the NFL said.

The move follows the NFL’s successful games staged in Sao Paulo this season and last year as the league attempts to build its audience in Brazil, which is home to 36 million fans of gridiron according to league figures.

“Building on the success of the games in Sao Paulo, we could not be more excited to play in one of the world’s most iconic cities — Rio de Janeiro,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. 

“We look forward to working closely with our city and state partners in Rio along with the historic Maracana Stadium to deepen our ties to the tens of millions of fans in Brazil and across South America.”

The Maracana is one of the most famous venues in football, hosting the climax of the 1950 and 2014 World Cups.

“It will be a historic event, as NFL games will be included on our city’s official calendar. I’m looking forward to seeing an American football game at Maracana, the most iconic temple of world football,” Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes said in a statement.

The NFL’s games in Sao Paulo are part of a broader effort to spread the league globally, with regular season games also being staged in Frankfurt, London, Mexico City, Munich, and Toronto to date. Dublin, Berlin and Madrid are also set to host games along with the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia in 2026.