It has been officially confirmed, after anticipation earlier this week, the Kansas City Chiefs will be taking on their divisional rivals, the Los Angeles Chargers, in Week 1, hosted in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The teams will both kick off their respective season with a highly anticipated battle.
These two franchises were atop the AFC West division last season, but it ultimately went to Kansas City with their 15-2 record. Now, the Chiefs have a chance to set up their season nicely if they can get a win away from home in front of an international crowd.
Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt has been very vocal about the franchise being open to playing internationally, and now with this announcement, they'll get their chance.
"On playing international games, we’re willing to do it whenever the opportunity presents itself,” Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said. “We don’t have a lot of control over that, except periodically with whatever the rotation (of teams scheduled to play overseas) of the league is at where we can be the home team."
These two teams are going to meet again in the States, but this game will have a ton of eyes, both in the United States and within the stadium. It is a smart move to have the most marketable team in the Chiefs go and fight a division rival, creating new fans overseas.
The Chargers have a positive outlook going into the new season, but that's nothing the Chiefs should be fearful of. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been preparing all offseason long to get back on the field and help his team win football games, regardless of where they are playing.
"When the Chiefs take the field in Brazil, they’ll become the first team in NFL history to play a regular-season game in four different countries outside of the US.
KC will also become the first team to play a regular-season game in three countries outside of North America," Chiefs Team Report Matt McCullen wrote on X.
Once again making history, the National Football League continues to see that the Chiefs are still the team to beat, regardless of their downfall to the Philadelphia Eagles last season.
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