Maracana Field Still Being Trimmed Hours Before NFL's First Rio Game — SkimNews
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Maracana Stadium workers were using scissors and mowers to level high grass on Saturday, less than 30 hours before the Dallas Cowboys faced the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL's first game in Rio de Janeiro.
- Maracana's turf has drawn concern for nearly two weeks due to wear from Brazilian clubs Flamengo and Fluminense, which play there at least weekly during the local soccer season.
- NFL Players Association executive director said Friday that both the league and union had experts monitoring the field, with union experts worried about loose turf and excessive slipping.
- Field director Nick Pappas told journalists Saturday that the NFL reinforced stitching and made additional improvements, declaring "Things check out. No need to worry."
- The 2024 Brazil game at Sao Paulo's NeoQuimica Arena saw turf criticized so heavily that Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers players had to change cleats to stop slipping.
- Maracana's pitch is 100% natural grass, while the NeoQuimica Arena uses a natural-synthetic mix Brazilian footballers consider the country's best playing surface.
- Sunday's game is one of a record nine international contests on this NFL season's schedule, and Rio's tourist appeal brought fans like Chilean Broncos supporter Juan Olmedo, who said the city's atmosphere added an element Sao Paulo lacked.
Why it matters: The field-prep scramble echoes the 2024 Sao Paulo debacle that forced players to swap cleats mid-game, putting the NFL on notice that its second-year Brazil experiment must avoid repeating that embarrassment. With the Cowboys and Ravens already in Rio after 10-hour flights and a record nine international games on the slate, the league's credibility on international turf standards is being tested on a 100% natural grass surface already worn by Brazilian soccer's biggest clubs.
Ask SkimNews
