It has long been confirmed that the Los Angeles Chargers will play one of their home games in Brazil. The NFL is aiming to break a record and is banking on a “new” form of broadcasting.

After last season’s clash between the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles marked the start of international games in Brazil, the NFL is returning to Sao Paulo for the coming season.

On Tuesday, the NFL announced its international games and assigned opponents to the teams with home rights.

They confirmed that the Los Angeles Chargers will be the home team for the Friday night game in week one on September 5 at Corinthians Arena. According to various leaks, the Kansas City Chiefs will be the opponents of the “Bolts.”

Kansas City Chiefs an unusual choice for the Brazil game

An unusual choice for an international game, as both teams are in the AFC West and divisional games are not normally played internationally. The Chiefs’ game against the Chargers will be the first to break this unwritten rule.

However, there is a lot behind this rule break: The game in Sao Paulo will be the first NFL game ever to be streamed worldwide and free of charge on YouTube. The aim is to set a streaming record, which is why the Kansas City Chiefs were chosen.

The franchise is one of the most popular teams in the NFL thanks to its recent successes and fans all over the world – not least thanks to superstars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.

Chargers could have prevented Chiefs duel in Brazil

It appears that the Chargers could have prevented themselves from having to play the Chiefs in Brazil and thus giving up their home advantage.

As the Sports Business Journal recently reported, teams that play home games abroad as part of the International Series can protect up to two games that will not take place on international soil.

However, the match against the Chiefs was apparently not one of the two home games the Chargers wanted to protect. What’s more, none of their three home games in the AFC West next season were protected. In addition to the Chiefs, the games against the Denver Broncos and the Las Vegas Raiders would also have been eligible.

Accordingly, the franchise decided to focus its home game protection on teams that visit them less frequently. The report specifically mentions the matchups with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Washington Commanders, and the Philadelphia Eagles as games that the Chargers wanted to secure at SoFi Stadium.