NFL Invades Soccer-Crazed Brazil in Push to Go Global

The league is hosting its first game in South America, where football dominates and the American version is a niche sport.

In the leadup to the NFL’s first game in South America, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love appeared on a mural in downtown São Paulo.

Photographer: Tuane Fernandes/Bloomberg
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The NFL wants to create millions of fans like Renan Ribeiro.

The 38-year-old grew up in soccer-obsessed Brazil knowing almost nothing about American football. He learned a little about the sport from movies such as Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, in which Jim Carrey tries to solve the kidnapping of the Miami Dolphins mascot. Years later, he caught the end of a Super Bowl on TV and was hooked.