Flamengo deepen NFL ties as Rio hosts first game at Maracanã | OneFootball

According to Globo.com, Flamengo are strengthening ties with the NFL as Rio hosts its first league game at the Maracanã, viewing American football's rise in Brazil as a way to further internationalise the brand. The club has provided the Maracanã and Ninho do Urubu to the visitors.

Dallas Cowboys face Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, and centre-back Léo Ortiz visited Cowboys training on Friday at Ninho do Urubu and is expected at the game.

Marketing director Ricardo Hinrichsen said the club see growing domestic interest as a major opportunity and are pleased to be close to the NFL and this historic Maracanã occasion.

Flamengo's collaboration predates this week. In 2022, then left-back Filipe Luís announced pick 125 in the fourth round of the NFL Draft in a first-of-its-kind tie-up with the Miami Dolphins at Christ the Redeemer, where he envisaged a future Maracanã game.

As the league accelerated its international plan, the Dolphins gained exclusive rights in Brazil, São Paulo staged the first two NFL games in 2024 and 2025, and Flamengo launched co-branded apparel this month and hosted the Vince Lombardi Trophy at their training base.

Ortiz has helped deepen links, watching the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in 2025 while on holiday, gifting Robert Kraft a Flamengo shirt and later announcing a Patriots Draft pick. Club doctors Luiz Macedo and Fernando Sassaki have been temporarily hired by the NFL. Kick-off is 17:25 Brasília time, live on sportv and ge tv.

Source: Globo.com

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