NFL-Sao Paulo beefs up security for historic game as players voice concerns

By Gabriel Araujo

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - 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 on Wednesday.

Brazil will host the Philadelphia Eagles versus the Green Bay Packers on Friday at the Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo, the first NFL game on the continent and the first Week One 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 AJ Brown told reporters.

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

"I do not want to go to Brazil. They already told us not to leave the hotel. They told us we can't do too much, because the crime rate is crazy," cornerback Darius Slay said in a podcast. He later apologized "to anyone I offended" in an X post.

Sao Paulo state government said it would delegate specialized civil and military police battalions to reinforce security during the game and place police officers on streets, 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," it said in a statement. Authorities will also carry out a sweep at the stadium before the match.

Brazil in 2023 ranked 17th most dangerous country in the world by murder rate, according to Statista data, below Latin American peers such as Ecuador and Mexico - where NFL has held games since 2005 with security concerns also voiced.

Sao Paulo state says the local homicide rate is four times lower than the national average and compares to that of California, while standing below Washington DC, for example.

(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo, editing by Ed Osmond)