Nathalie Ramos and her family attend the Zambia vs Japan game in Hamilton.
Photo: SUPPLIED
Brazilian football fans across the motu are coming together to support other nations in the Women’s FIFA World Cup, celebrating as if it is their own team.
Brazil is competing the first leg of the tournament in Australia, with little chance of playing in New Zealand and football fans unable to cross the ditch say supporting other teams with lower stadium attendance is a way to share their football love and history.
Originally born in Rio de Janeiro, 36-year-old Nathalie Ramos has been a long-time football fan.
“I grew up going into the stadium with my dad in Rio, to watch my favourite team in the whole world Flamengo.
“I’m crazy about it, I have jerseys, I watch all the games. I actually wake up very early here sometimes to watch their matches, I just love football a lot.”
Almost a decade living in New Zealand with her family, the now Tauranga-based football fanatic thought she would finally be able to see her nation playing on Kiwi grounds.
“When I heard that the World Cup was going to be in New Zealand and Australia, I was super happy, so it was a bit frustrating to realise Brazil wouldn’t play here.
“But I was still very excited to support other teams and to watch other matches, it is just amazing to be able to support the girls in all the teams really,” she said.
To share her love for the sport, Ramos decided to create a taskforce to support smaller nations debuting in the championship.
“I posted in the Brazilian community page here in Tauranga for the people to start searching for games with more (tickets) availability, so we could support teams that might not have a great number of supporters over here.
“Of course, I wanted to see the Ferns, after all I live in New Zealand, but if I am able to support a team like Zambia or the Philippines for example, it would be amazing.”
Having lived in Wellington for the past six years, this was the second time Brazilian Karen Soares signed up to be a volunteer in a FIFA World Cup.
Karen Soares volunteering at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Wellington.
Photo: SUPPLIED
She participated in the 2014 Men’s FIFA World Cup, hosted in her home country and said the experience was so amazing, she just had to do it again.
Attending several games in the capital, she invited her community to come along and support other nations in the championship.
“As a Brazilian, football is so much more than a sport for me. It’s about shining a light in countries that, sometimes, don’t have the right holophotes on them.
“The support is really important for small countries that have never been in a world sport event as big as a FIFA World Cup. These nations sometimes don’t have the same amount of money to put into training, and being here is already a bid geal for them.”
She said FIFA volunteers were cheering for all nations.
“I talked to the other volunteers, they are all so happy and they will be supporting all teams.
“We are all very happy to be able to share our passion for the sport by lifting up nations where football is not the number one sport. Sometimes they don’t have the infrastructure or even the money to invest in it,” Soares said.
Brazil had the dubious tag of being the best team never to win a Women’s World Cup, with a silver medal in 2007 being their best effort in eight finals appearances.
Swedish coach Pia Sundhage, who led the United States to two Olympic gold medals, will be the one working her magic with the squad this time around.
Soares said she will be rooting for her home country while supporting other federations playing in New Zealand.
“As a Brazilian, I think it’s my duty to support all nations, but I won’t lie, I really hope Brazil makes to the finals.”
Everton Furby playing NZ regional league.
Photo: SUPPLIED
Everton Furby migrated to New Zealand 6 years ago and has played football in several regional teams.
He said attending other nation’s games could make a big difference on the results.
“As a team, if you are not playing well, at least there will be people there to push you, to incentivise you.
“You might be losing but if the crowd is with the team yelling ‘you can do it, you can do it’, that could make a huge difference on the results of any sport.”
For Ramos, the more people joining the crowd, the better.
“Can you imagine playing in a silent stadium? No way, these girls need someone screaming their names.
“Even though we might not know all the players, let’s just go there, make some noise and say ‘Hey, let’s go! We can do this’.
“Just by saying that, or just by being there, these girls are going to give their best,” Ramos said.
Brazil won 4-0 on its first game in the cup against Panama on Tuesday and will be facing long-time rival France this Saturday in Queensland.
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