Brazil 2014: A people’s passion for the beautiful game
Apart from the usual farewell from the airline crew (Qatar Airways ), Bem-vindo was the first word I heard on Brazilian soil. It was uttered by a beautiful young lady as I was making my way to the arrival hall of the Sao Paulo International Airport.I was later told by an interpreter that it means […]
Apart from the usual farewell from the airline crew (Qatar Airways ), Bem-vindo was the first word I heard on Brazilian soil. It was uttered by a beautiful young lady as I was making my way to the arrival hall of the Sao Paulo International Airport.
I was later told by an interpreter that it means welcome in Portuguese, the major language spoken in Brazil.
Expectedly, I was not disappointed by the huge warm reception from the locals ,throughout the 23 days I spent in the South American country for the World Cup.
The journey started a day after the official opening ceremony of the Mundial, precisely on June 13 after I had watched Brazil come from behind to beat Croatia 3-1 in the opening match of the FIFA 2014 World Cup.
I left Abuja for Lagos in company of my colleague ,the Sports Editor of Leadership Newspaper Mr. Ishaku Kigbu, where we spent a day before boarding Qatar Airways the next day for the seven-hour flight to Doha.
Kigbu has been my travelling companion since 2013 when we travelled to South Africa for the Africa Cup of Nations. I also shared a room with him at Brasilia Santana Gold Flat Hotel during our stay in Sao Paulo.
We left Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos in the morning ,and arrived Hammad International Airport in Doha after seven hours, and spent another eight hours at the airport before connecting another flight to Sao Paulo.
We arrived Sao Paulo at 4:35 in the evening, that is 8:35 pm in Nigeria. After completing the immigration protocols and the bank transactions to get the Reais which is the Brazilian currency , we boarded a taxi to Brasilia Santana Gold Flat Hotel where some Nigerian journalists were already staying .
It was not a difficult task, as Mr. Tony Ubani who was our link-man and Timi Ebikagboro facilitated the deal.
Going to Brasilia Santana Gold Flat Hotel from the airport was equally hitch free. Immediately we told the driver where we were going to, he went through the handbook and was able to locate his bearing. It cost us 110 Reais which is equivalent to N9,000 for the 25 minute drive because there is no fixed charge, payment is per meter count.
An hour after we checked in, security operatives made up of the police and plain clothes officers ,stormed our hotel in search of drug couriers. We were later told that they learnt that many Nigerians are in the hotel, and it was likely that some might be involved in illicit drugs deals.
None of us however suffered any harm or harassment from the operatives, as they (security operatives) left after they were presented with documents by the hotel’s management confirming that all of us were accredited journalists who came to cover the FIFA 2014 World Cup fiesta.
That act gave us (Nigerian journalists) a glimpse of the efficacy of the security operations in Brazil, unlike in Nigeria where many foreigners roam the streets of our major cities, including the Federal Capital City of Abuja, without valid travelling papers and without being checked.
Later in the day when I went out in search of food with Kigbu, I had another experience when one of three ladies in her early 30s, sitting in one of the open bars, without prompting offered me a ring to exhibit her love, which I politely rejected.
Open-air smoking allowed
On my second day in Brazil, after sending the first set of stories, we went out to eat and I discovered that there is no ban on public smoking in Brazil, as men and women of different ages and classes openly smoke on the streets of Brazil.
In Brazil, smoking is only prohibited indoors or in enclosed places, but it is officially allowed on the streets, open-air areas, soccer stadiums and religious services among many others.
In the cities visited, open bars and restaurants line the streets with loud music emitting from such places when night falls, during which people of different ages take their positions to relax.
Throughout my stay in Brazil, I maintained accommodation at Brasilia Santana Gold Flat Hotel in the heart of Sao Paulo and only travelled to Curitiba, Cuiaba, Porto Alegre and Brasilia where Nigeria played her group matches and Round of 16 tie against France .I would later return to the hotel after each match.
The decision, just like many other Nigerian journalists in Brazil was that the Super Eagles had their permanent camp in Sao Paulo, the same with Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) officials who stayed at Braston Hotel 1 and 2.
The implication of this is that if you stay outside Sao Paulo, you are out of a news area, because you will be able to have access to Nigerian news that will make more meaning to your readers back home.
Transportation
Travelling to the various venues to watch matches and come back to Sao Paulo was hectic, because it takes up to at least six hours for one to get to a match venue from Sao Paulo by road.
Besides Curitiba, where the Super Eagles played their first group F match against Iran, it took us 12 hours by road to get to Curitiba which costs 100 US dollars (over N16,000) per individual, while those who travel by air paid $400 for a return ticket.
Those who went by road to Cuiaba paid $400 for the 24 hour journey, while those who made the trip by air paid $800.
A trip by road from Sao Paulo to Porto Alegre was $380 for the 18 hour journey, while those who travelled by air parted with $800 for a return ticket.
In addition to paying heavily to make long distances by road to cut cost, one is faced with the task of travelling by night on long buses (similar to Nigeria’s ABC, Ifesinachi, Ekene Dilichuku and others). There are also popular places where these vehicles stop, like we have Okene and Ore when travelling to Lagos from Abuja.
The only difference in this case is that there are no police road blocks on the way.Even where they exist, they are for monitoring purposes and have nothing to do with asking the driver to disembark and open the boot or show his vehicle particulars.
There is also a good rail transport system in Brazil, though this is mostly intra-city.It costs less to make a long journey by rail than to spend a huge amount on taxis for short journeys.
An example was when I, Kigbu and Tony Nezianya of NAN travelled to Portuguese Tiete to enquire for a bus to Cuiaba. On that day, we spent 130 Reais by taxi from Santa to Tirandentes, and another 90 Reais to Portuguese Tiete.But on our return, we only spent 90 Reais by train back home.
Match days in Brazil
It was interesting watching matches at the various FIFA Fan Fest points located in each of the World Cup venues and cities, where there were hundreds of people clad in the gold and green colours of the Brazilian national team, with majority wearing the number 10 jersey.
It was actually in Sao Paulo that I came to realise why people speak of football being a religion in Brazil.
On match days, the streets in Brazil are empty as men, women, young and old filled the FIFA Fan Fest, dancing to popular music blaring from huge loud-speakers as they waited for the match to kick-off.
During the match there are beautiful displays, and goals by Brazilian players are greeted with fireworks and the blaring of horns from vehicles, creating a very festive atmosphere.
The day we left Brazil for our return journey, I actually told Kigbu that it was safer for us to return home before Brazil crashes out of the tournament, because those who were protesting before the start of the World Cup will return to the streets and even vent their anger on the visitors, if Brazil finally fails to lift the trophy.
This is because of the passion and patriotism which Brazilians attach to their national team, and to the sport itself. Many Brazilians actually weep when the country’s national anthem is played before the kick-off of their matches.
Law and order
Many visitors questioned the rationale behind the listing of Brazil as a third world country, considering the massive development of infrastructure and human material in the country.
Electricity, roads, water supply, anything you can think of, works perfectly in Brazil. Law and order is obeyed to the letter in Brazil, and that is why even without the presence of a traffic warden and vehicles, a motorist could halt for over three minutes waiting for the green light to come on, before driving past a junction.
I remember the day we were returning to Sao Paulo from Curitiba after the Super Eagles played a 0-0 draw with Iran and we got to a junction around 3:00 in the morning. But the driver insisted on waiting for the green light, even though some of us felt that it was a waste of time since there were no vehicles on the road at that time.
It is also difficult to buy medicine from any of the pharmaceutical stores in a Brazilian city, without producing a prescription from a certified medical doctor.
One day I went out with Kigbu to more than three medicine stores in search of medicine to buy, but each of them demanded that we produce a prescription from a medical doctor, and because we could not produce one, they refused to honour our request.
Despite the many good things in Brazil, one thing was missing, and that was the kind of food that would end your hunger.
Hunger in the midst of food
Many Nigerians and other nationals remained ‘hungry’ for the rest of the World Cup period, because they could not feed on the junk food which abounds in the restaurants and fast food joints across the cities of Brazil.
Nigerians desirous of eating their local delicacies, were happy to discover the Nigerian Kitchen located on Artemez, where Nigerian dishes are sold at lower rates, compared to the cost of eating at McDonalds and other eateries.
This downtown area of Sao Paulo has everything that Nigerians needed, as the restaurants burst with long queues. It is difficult for you to get to her shop without seeing someone you know, or hear one speaking your dialect.
As cheap as the food appears to be, one stands the risk of paying three-times the cost of a plate of the food to get to the location, depending of which part of the city you are coming from.
If you decide to go with a taxi, you run the risk of getting angry because of the numerous traffic lights that line the way, and the annoying taxi drivers who deliberately choose the longer routes to get their customers to pay higher.
You will be surprised to discover that you will eat a plate of food worth N500, and pay a taxi fare of N1,000.
Religion
The dominant religion in Brazil is Christianity and about 85 percent of Christians in Brazil are Catholics, and there are a few Pentecostal churches to be found in a few places. There are some which engage in performing healing and miracle services.
There are also a few Mosques ,and Muslims travel long distances for Jumat on Fridays, and other important Muslim calendar days for prayers.
On television stations, though the services are conducted in Portuguese, pastors are seen performing the healing, while those who benefit from such in the past are heard giving their testimonies to large congregations during crusades and church services.
On Sundays, all offices, shops and restaurants are closed for business till the next day.
Night life
Apart from the night clubs that are located on each of the streets, Open bars are also available for those who do not have the luxury of staying out till late in the night. As early as 2pm, chairs and tables are arranged in the streets outside the open bars, waiting for customers who fill the places when night falls.
Most of the open bars have live bands that entertain the guests who dance to the rhythm of the music with their partners.
Some of the drinking joints are for the aged, while others have no classification, as both young and old are accommodated.
Nigerian Beggars
I was angry when I saw Nigerian officials (airline staff, uniformed men and others) begging travellers at the international wing of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos.
Many of them openly demanded money from the departing travellers, while others use coined terms and expressions like ‘oga, nothing for your sister/brother?’’ Give your brother something, and make officers happy.’
Brazil’s beggars
Like beggars on the streets of Abuja, Lagos and other Nigerian cities, there are also beggars in Brazil, some of whom also resort to picking from the bin to eat.
At the bus station in Portuguese Tiete, I was surprised to see a man in 40s scavenging from a refuse bin to pick something from it. He was also shabbily dressed like his Nigerian counterpart.
Also on the streets of Sao Paulo, near Santana train station, men and women in their 60s and above are seen sleeping in the open on mats.
There are also many others who stay on the streets begging for alms from passersby.
After the Super Eagles crashed out of the World Cup, many people thought I would return to Nigeria, but I always told them that I will return at the appropriate time, because I was there to cover the World Cup and not the Super Eagles.
Then June 6 happened to be the date when I started my return journey from Brazil. It was a smooth journey that took 22 hours from Sao Paulo to Doha (14 hours), Doha to Lagos (seven hours) and Lagos to Abuja (one hour).
My only disappointment, besides the Super Eagles ouster at the Round of 16 stage ,was that I did not have the opportunity to visit the famous beaches of Brazil , most of which are located in Rio de Janeiro ,but Nigeria did not play any of her matches there .
But in all, it was a good experience which every sports reporter would like to have, and I cherish it very much.
This trip was sponsored by Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited.