SA expats set to samba in Brazil

CHEMICAL BROTHERS: A Brazilian soldier undergoes a decontamination procedure during a simulated chemical and radiological attack exercise at the Mane Garrincha National Stadium in Brasilia. The Fifa World Cup kicks off tomorrow with a match between the hosts, Brazil, and Croatia in Sao Paulo. Photo: REUTERS

CHEMICAL BROTHERS: A Brazilian soldier undergoes a decontamination procedure during a simulated chemical and radiological attack exercise at the Mane Garrincha National Stadium in Brasilia. The Fifa World Cup kicks off tomorrow with a match between the hosts, Brazil, and Croatia in Sao Paulo. Photo: REUTERS

Published Jun 11, 2014

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Simone Alicea

AS the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil kicks off tomorrow four years after the greatest sports event was held in South Africa, some South Africans are gearing up to watch the tournament in this year’s host country itself.

South Africans don’t need a visa to visit Brazil and while it is unclear how many will be there to cheer their favourite teams on, what is clear is that Brazil has become a popular destination.

“We know there are a lot of South Africans here despite the fact that we (South Africa) don’t have a team,” an official from the South African Consulate in Sao Paulo said yesterday.

South African Werner Trieloff, who has been living in Brazil for six years, flew from Sao Leopoldo to Sao Paulo yesterday after a number of delays.

“I think South Africa was actually better prepared than Brazil,” Trieloff said.

Capetonian Stephen Timm agrees. He’s lived in Sao Paulo since February studying Portuguese.

“They’re only just starting to pave the roads and put up souvenirs in the last five days,”

Timm said.

He said he planned to watch the matches in the local bars.

Trieloff will watch the opening matches in Sao Paulo.

“Once we’re inside the stadium, I think it’ll be okay,” Trieloff said. “It’s just outside where there’s utter chaos.”

Travel agencies saw a marked interest in World Cup packages and most travellers have been planning for months.

“I received quite a few requests a couple of months ago already but the problem I faced was that a lot of hotels had it blocked out until they could sort allocation issues with Fifa,” Club Travel consultant Alistair Fortuin said.

“Flights were easy enough to find but extremely expensive. It really put my clients off as airlines only released the lower classes closer to the event.”

World Cup travel is hard on the wallet. Packages could cost as much as R60 000, with cost of air travel running at R18 000.

“The problem is that a lot of places advertise specials which are way cheaper but availability is the issue and they inevitably come back quoting you a higher price,” Fortuin said.

Despite the price and a missing home team, many South African tourists are attracted to this year’s tournament in Brazil.

Timm and Trieloff’s best advice to travellers is to learn some Portuguese. They say navigating Brazil could otherwise be a hassle.

And leave your vuvuzelas at home. Fifa has banned the loud and popular instrument from stadiums as part of the “Stadium Code of Conduct.” Brazilian noisemakers “caxirolas” have also been banned.

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