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NC State vs Virginia 2026 Opener Moved from Rio de Janeiro to Charlottesville After Promoter Failure
The season-opening game between NC State and Virginia, originally set for Nilton Santos Stadium in Brazil, will now be played in Charlottesville after the international event could not proceed.
Jun 3, 1:49 PM·1m read1 source
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NC State and Virginia will open the 2026 college football season against each other in Charlottesville, Virginia, after their planned game in Rio de Janeiro was relocated. The schools announced the change on Wednesday, June 3, 2026. The contest had been scheduled for Nilton Santos Stadium, also known as Engenhão, a 44,661-seat venue that hosted the 2016 Summer Olympics and the Copa América.
Virginia had been designated the home team for the Brazil game. NC State Athletics stated that the game was moved after Athlete Advantage informed the ACC that the event could not be conducted. NC State’s season opener versus Virginia will now be hosted by the Cavaliers in Charlottesville.
In September, ACC athletic directors voted to move the league to a nine-game conference schedule starting in 2026. The NC State-Virginia matchup was converted from a nonconference contest to an official ACC game that counts toward league standings. College football games have been played in Canada, Mexico and Cuba dating back to 1874.
Boston College met Army in Dublin, Ireland, in 1988, marking the first major American college football game in Europe. Northwestern took on Nebraska in Dublin in 2022 in front of a crowd of 40,562 at Aviva Stadium. Pitt and Wisconsin will meet in Ireland on Aug.
29, 2026. Arizona State and Kansas will play at Wembley Stadium in London on Sept. 19, 2026. The Rio de Janeiro contest was set to be college football’s first game in Brazil.
