In an era where cross-border partnerships are defining new frontiers in global economic and cultural exchange, the National Football League (NFL) is expanding its reach to bring its product onto the field in more countries.
While the NFL has a long history of playing games outside the United States, it upped its game in 2022, announcing will play at least four international matches each season. The latest expansion includes a partnership with São Paulo Turismo (Spturis) to bring the NFL to Brazil.
The game will take place on the Friday night of Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season on September 6, 2024. It will mark the first time in history that an NFL game has ever been played in South America.
I recently had the opportunity to interview Gustavo Pires, president of Spturis, to see what it takes to bring the NFL to São Paulo. Pires was instrumental in facilitating this alliance with the NFL.
What struck me was Pires’ illustration of how proactive collaboration and cultural adaptation can yield meaningful mutual benefits, bridging continents and opportunities for mutual growth.
Collaboration is a culture, not an activity
The journey to this remarkable partnership began with a major cultural shift in Pires’s own organization. Spturis, a government-controlled company in São Paulo, manages public and private events for the city.
When Pires joined Spturis, the organization was operating with a budget deficit. Pires believed that creating a more collaborative culture, both internally and externally, could generate ideas and opportunities to reduce costs and increase revenue.
“We wanted to create a culture where team members were proactive about finding opportunities to collaborate with others,” Pires shared. “This approach set the course for a departure from traditional, insular strategies to a dynamic model of open innovation and partnership. I knew that if team members adopted a collaborative and entrepreneurial mindset, there would be countless ways to improve our efficiency and increase our revenue.”
Pires was right. As more team members began to collaborate, the more the culture shifted from traditional, insular strategies to a dynamic model of open innovation and partnership.
The benefits were far better than Pires could have ever imagined.
“Spturis from a budget deficit of $55 million in 2021 to a profit of $85 million in 2023. It has been remarkable to see the impact of a more collaborative culture in both reducing costs and accelerating growth.”
Collaboration fuels growth opportunities
For Pires, a collaborative culture extends externally to how Spturis operates.
“When you’re running a government-controlled company that falls under your purview, it means you come with a lot of guardrails and obligations. But that doesn’t mean you can’t look outside the box and find new ways of working. One of the key twists for Spturis has also been adopting an entrepreneurial and collaborative spirit in the way we work with event planners to bring more events to São Paulo.”
Pires’ leadership has been instrumental in attracting major international events to the city. His proactive approach has fueled major advances in São Paulo’s events and tourism sector, growing from 2,000 events to over 3,600 events after just one year under his leadership. In addition to the NLF, recent wins include The Town, WEC and Formula E.
Additionally, Pires shared his philosophy on working with potential partners like the NFL: “First, it’s important to have clarity of purpose. You need to understand the specific goals and needs of a partnership and ensure that all parties are aligned. The alignment of interests is critical to the success of the partnership.”
Second on Pires’ list?
Situational awareness.
“It’s important to recognize the dynamics that exist in potential partners. This includes understanding key stakeholders, their goals and how they work, as well as language and cultural differences. This awareness allows for more nuanced and effective engagement strategies, ensuring that all parties can contribute meaningfully.”
Finally, Pires’ third pillar of good collaboration is communication and mutual understanding: “It’s important to take the time to communicate. You just can’t communicate too much. For example, try to understand each partner’s strengths and weaknesses so that each party can play to their strengths. But also take the time to talk about how you’ll compensate for any weaknesses.”
The economic and cultural impact of the NFL on São Paulo
The NFL and São Paulo partnership goes beyond simple sporting events, serving as a conduit for important economic and cultural exchanges. South America’s first NFL game is expected to bring in about $60 million, create about 5,000 jobs and significantly boost tourism, with an estimated 10 percent of the event’s audience traveling from the United States.
The influx will represent the largest movement of Americans to Brazil for a single event, demonstrating the substantial impact of strategic international partnerships on local economies and global cultural relations.
While Pires is excited about the economic impact of moving the NFL to Sao Paulo, he is just as excited about the cultural impact. “The NFL estimates it has 38 million fans in Brazil, making it the second largest audience outside of the United States. Greater than the economic impact was the opportunity to unite two cultures. Returning the long-term impact motivated me to do this,” Pires noted.
The bottom line;
Pires’ drive to embrace collaboration as a core culture for Spturis in a government-controlled entity should be an inspiration to other government agencies and leaders around the world. Spturis offers key benefits not only for Spturis and the city of São Paulo, but also for the organizations they work with.