Sao Paulo beefs up security for NFL game between Eagles, Packers - ESPN

Sao Paulo has tightened security ahead of the first NFL game in South America after players voiced concerns about traveling to Latin America's largest country, the Brazilian state said Wednesday.

Brazil will host the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers on Friday at Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo, the first NFL game on the continent and the first Week 1 game held on a Friday evening since 1970.

Eagles players have questioned security in the city, the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.

«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,» wide receiver A.J. Brown told reporters last week.

He said players were advised not to walk on the streets holding cellphones.

«Week 1, I'm looking forward to it, I can't wait,» Darius Slay Jr. said recently on his «Big Play Slay» podcast. «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."

On Tuesday night, Slay apologized «to anyone I offended» in a post on X.

I want to apologize to anyone I offended, that wasn't my intention. I'm
Looking forward to playing in your beautiful country and i've heard yall are very passionate just like our