Eagles vs Packers in Brazil: Who is the home team and why?

The Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers are traveling to São Paulo, Brazil for their Week 1 game in the NFL’s first-ever game in South America on Friday, September 6. The game will be played at Arena Corinthians, also known as the Neo Química Arena, which is the home of the São Paulo soccer team Corinthians. Kickoff is at 8:15 p.m. Eastern time, which will be 9:15 p.m. in São Paulo.

Who is the home team in Eagles vs Packers in Brazil?

The international NFL games are getting more and more popular each year. The NFL now hosts three (sometimes even more) games in the UK each season, will hold its third annual game in Germany this season, is holding the first game in Brazil this year, and will host its first game in Spain next season. It’s a way for the league to grow the game of football across the globe as well as give international fans a chance to actually attend a game.

Those in London will attest to the fact that they love the opportunity to go to a game, regardless of which team is playing, as they may otherwise never get the chance.

Read More: The rise of the NFL in the UK

How does the NFL determine the home team for international NFL games?

This does of course beg the question of who gets to be the home team in these international games. The NFL has a method for that.

When the league changed to a 17-game schedule in 2021, the AFC and NFC teams began to alternate seasons in which they host nine home games. The host team for the international games will be selected based on which conference has the ninth home game - that way, both teams will host at least eight games in their home stadium for the season.

In the 2024 season, the NFC will have nine regular season home games, so the “home team” for the game in Brazil will be the Philadelphia Eagles. Of course, that doesn’t mean they’ll have the home-field advantage. In fact, it doesn’t really mean anything at all, except that the Packers won’t lose a home game for the season.