Chargers vs. Chiefs in Brazil a blueprint for NFL’s global strategy

SÃO PAULO, Brazil — The Chargers played host to the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday in the first of the NFL’s record seven international games, with upcoming matchups between different teams in London, Madrid, Dublin and Berlin. Next season, the Rams will plant a flag in Australia with a regular-season game in Melbourne, the league’s first foray Down Under.

The NFL is focused on a long-range international strategy, not a series of one-off curiosities.

“It’s the opposite of the circus comes to town,” said Peter O’Reilly, NFL executive vice president of club business, international and league events. “It’s not one-and-done. It’s play the game and be engaged year-round. All clubs now have the rights in at least one market and that’s a long-term commitment. We’re investing in the long term to become a true global sport property.”

That will take some doing, especially in countries such as Brazil, where American football barely registers a blip on the sports radar with interest dwarfed by the passion for soccer.

Still, Corinthians Arena was filled to the brim Friday night with nearly 50,000 people, and fans — overwhelmingly adorned in red Chiefs jerseys — who stood the majority of the game.

O’Reilly calls it the pebble-in-the-pond effect. Stage a game and watch as ripples spread throughout the region. Last month, the NFL signed a multi-year deal with Globo, Brazil’s largest media company.

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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, front, and Chiefs owner Clark Hunt pour beers for fans during a Chiefs event in São Paulo, Brazil, on Thursday night.

“Ultimately, it’s about building fans and providing as much reach as possible,” he said. “Yes, the financials are important at the end of the day, but it’s really about reach. How do we bring the NFL to more fans? This game was streamed free on YouTube around the world. We’re just opening up to a much wider audience.”

Said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell: “We know we have 36 million fans in Brazil. … Our players, and even our coaches, enjoy being on the global stage.”

The individual teams are getting more involved as well, rather than leaving the heavy lifting up to the NFL. For the latest Brazil game — the second in São Paulo and only the second regular-season NFL game in the Southern Hemisphere — both the Chargers and Chiefs hosted ticketed parties for their fans and various influencers from around the world.

At Chiefs House on Thursday night, Goodell and Chiefs owner Clark Hunt participated in a panel interview then got behind the bar and poured beer for the attendees.

“This is my favorite job, being a bartender,” said Goodell, standing beside an ice chest of Budweisers and filling plastic cups. “You make people happy… They don’t boo you here.”

Recording artist Karol G performs at halftime during the Chargers’ win over the Chiefs in São Paulo, Brazil, on Friday night.

(Buda Mendes / Getty Images)

In the panel discussion, Hunt said: “We’ve been very transparent about our desire to become the world’s team. Now we get to come to the most important country in South America and introduce them to Chiefs-style football.”

After a couple hours, the man often voted the most powerful executive in sports hopped in a sprinter van and made his way to the Chargers party, where club owner Dean Spanos did some mingling with party-goers, posing for photos with a large team flag a fan handed him.

By game’s end Friday, it was Spanos who left happy, with the Chargers upsetting the defending AFC champions, 27-21, beating Kansas City for the first time in eight tries.

Chargers owner Dean Spanos attends a team party in São Paulo, Brazil, on Thursday ahead of the team’s win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday.

(Sam Farmer / Los Angeles Times)

Unlike last year, when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers had trouble finding their footing on a playing surface designed for soccer, the grass held up this time. It was a newly installed hybrid field of rye and synthetic grass that could endure the wear and tear of 300-pound combatants.

“No complaints at all,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said after the victory. “The atmosphere was great. The field was great. Everything was a plus-plus. Brazil has a real good place in my heart from now on.”

The NFL feels the same way.

“We’re still a challenger; we know that soccer is clearly No. 1,” O’Reilly said. “But we believe we’ve got the runway to really grow. There are not that many barriers for us. It’s really just about our commitment to getting after it and building the fan base. We’re seeing results.”