At home abroad: A Selecao bringing Brazilian ex-pats together

From Toronto to Melbourne, Brazil is synonymous with football like no other nation on earth.

Five-time world champions, the Selecao are the most famous and most successful national team in the sport’s history, attracting legions of fans from all four corners of the planet.

Raisa Simplicio / Goal Brasil

Brazil bring the world together – and so too do they offer the comforts of home to the millions of Brazilian ex-pats now living and working all over the world. The Brasil Global Tour has taken the Seelcao to all five continents over the past few years, and on every stop they’ve found compatriots, delighted to welcome their beloved national team to their adopted homes.

This month, for example scores of Brazilians living in the United States are getting the opportunity to reunite with their to the Selecao and, by extension, the place they will always call home.

"I've been here in the United States for 23 years and I think the Selecao has that power. When they come here, I think that's what motivates them," said Brazilian ex-pat New Jersey resident Claudia Knalia, one of many who gathered outside the hotel over the course of Brazil's week in the United States.

"During the World Cup, I would meet up with many other Brazilians for the games. We will always be huge fans and, since most of us live far away, we support the Selecao with great passion. The World Cup was hard, we suffered a lot, and it's a pity that we didn’t go further.

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"It is great to get together with the Selecao because all us Brazilians, whether we support Cruzeiro, Flamengo or Atletico, we come together to see our national team. It's a little bit of Brazil in the United States and whenever the national team come here. We feel only joy.”

Marlon Ferreira is another local resident who left Brazil long ago and he, too, finds the Selecao help him feel closer to home. Whenever Brazil arrive on American soil, Marlon makes sure he stays in the same hotel as the team.

"It's really cool to have the opportunity to be around here,” he says. “I always stay in the same hotel when they come here. I already know some of people in the national team and it's always a great pleasure to accompany them when they come here."

Brazil make their final stop of this month's Brasil Global Tour on Tuesday when they meet El Salvador at FedEx Field in Landover.

Brasil Global Tour