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Ahead of the game in Brazil against the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers on Sept. 6, Sao Paul beefed up their security after players voiced their concerns about traveling. This will be the first NFL game on the continent and the first Week 1 game held on a Friday evening since 1970.
The Sao Paul government said that they would send out civil and military police battalions to reinforce security during the game, and they would put police officers on streets and trains, subway stations, hotels, and tourist attractions.
“To guarantee the safety of the players, the military police will reinforce the number of personnel upon arrival of the delegations at the Guarulhos Airport and escort the teams to their hotels, training sites, and the stadium,” the government said in a statement.
In 2023, Brazil ranked as the 17th-most dangerous country in the world by murder rate, according to Statista data.
Players voice their concerns ahead of NFL game in Brazil
A few of the Philadelphia Eagles players have spoken about heading to Brazil, and the dangers that could come with playing there. Wide receiver A.J. Brown mentioned that he just wanted to go play football and come back home.
“We had a meeting with a whole bunch of ‘don't do's.' So, I'm just trying to go down there, win a football game, and come back home,” Brown said to reporters.
Darius Slay went into detail on his Big Play Slay podcast about his thoughts on going to Brazil, and even though he's excited about the opportunity, he's still trying to stay cautious.
“Week 1, I'm looking forward to it, I can't wait,” Slay said. “But man, I do not want to go to Brazil, you want to know why? I'm here to tell you why. They already told us not to leave the hotel. They told us we can't do too much going on because the crime rate is crazy.
“… I'm like, NFL why y'all wanna send us somewhere where the crime rate is this high and we out the country? You know, the first thing people are thinking is like some terror could possibly happen. I told my family do not come down there because I'm not going to be nowhere to be found. I'm going to be in the hotel chilling, minding my business, playing my game after a long 9½-hour flight.”
A few days later, Slay went to X, formerly Twitter, and apologized for the comments he made on his podcast.
“I want to apologize to anyone I offended, that wasn’t my intention,” Slay said. “I’m Looking forward to playing in your beautiful country and i’ve heard yall are very passionate just like our amazing Eagles fan. Just a few more days, can’t wait!!!! #FlyEaglesFly.”
