How their income in Australia has helped these Brazilian football fans attend FIFA World Cup repeatedly

Apart from other benefits, migrating to Australia has enabled some ardent Brazilian football fans to afford travelling to watch FIFA World Cup matches. Not once or twice but as many as five times in a row.

José Marcio Santos (in red hat) from Sydney alongside his friends Tiago (next to him), Egidio and Claudia enjoying the FIFA World Cup in Russia in 2018. Qatar will be his fourth World Cup.

From the barber to the international student and the veterans of the biggest football event on the planet, some football fanatics say that thanks to living in Australia, they are able to make enough money to enjoy the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Qatar despite the global economic challenges the world is reeling under at the moment.

Talking to SBS Portuguese, Brazilian migrants say they highly value Australia's strong exchange rate and high employment rate, combined with the world's highest minimum wage rate.

This apparently holds true not only for the large cohort of international students who choose Australia as their education destination while they study, but also after they have consolidated in their position in their professional fields Down Under.

Such is the story of Rander Ferreira from Perth.

Born in Sumaré in Brazil, he was a bank clerk in his home country. But when he came to Australia to work on his English, he changed careers and enjoyed learning how to cut hair.

He then studied the trade, opened a salon in Perth and soon got many clients. It was there that the doors to the FIFA World Cup opened for him.

Barber Rander Ferreira, from Perth: the dream of the first cup came true in a conversation with a client in the salon.

“It was funny how things happened. I spend all day talking with my clients in my salon.

"I told one of them that I wanted to go to the World Cup but never had the opportunity. Coincidentally, he had a pass for a match — Argentina vs Saudi Arabia — and ended up selling it to me.

"Soon after, I booked the trip and accommodation in time," he tells SBS Portuguese.

Rander is now in Qatar with his wife Renata, and in addition to the Argentina-Saudi Arabia game (which the former lost), he will also witness Brazil's debut against Serbia.

While he always had an ardent football fan in him, he feels that if he were a barber in Brazil, his dream would not have come true.

"The trip costs an average of $10,000, that is around 35,000 Brazilian reals. Also, the trip to Qatar from Brazil would have been even more expensive," he says.

Honestly, as a barber in Brazil, I would not be able to make this trip because the cost is too high.

Rander Ferreira, Barber from Perth

"The salaries in Brazil don't keep up with expenses. In Australia, $10,000 is not too much but I wouldn't have had that kind of money for the World Cup had I been in Brazil," he explains.

Vitor Domingues is a student in Perth.

In Australia since the last three years, he has worked in marketing in Rio de Janeiro. Today, he studies business and works at a car rental shop in Australia.

Vitor Domingues, a Perth student, will watch 14 matches at the World Cup in Qatar.

This is the first FIFA World Cup he has travelled to watch in person. He decided to go just five months ago.

He paid for it piecemeal and will end up watching a whopping 14 games in Qatar.

For him, going to the World Cup is an opportunity of a lifetime that living in Australia has opened up for him.

“If I were in Brazil, living how I lived there before I came to Australia, I would not have been able to organise a World Cup trip in such a short time and watch so many games," he says.

This is an opportunity that Australia gives you. Your purchasing power is excellent, even on a minimum wage, as long as you make an effort and organise yourself properly.

Vitor Domingues, from Perth.

"I am a student and can manage to do this. In Brazil, I certainly couldn't," Vitor adds.

Unlike first-timers Rander and Vitor, there are many Brazilians in Australia who are veteran spectators of the FIFA World Cup.

Vladimir Costa (43) is one.

From the state of Minas Gerais, he is the consul of the Atlético-MG fans in Sydney.

Since 2004, he has worked in information technology in Australia and is going to his fifth men's FIFA World Cup this year.

Interestingly, the seed of coming to live in Australia was planted after the frustration of not being able to go to the World Cup in South Korea and Japan in 2002.

Vladimir Costa at the FIFA World Cup in 2006 at Munich. Qatar will be his fifth.

“It all started in 2002. I failed to watch the World Cup in Japan and Korea. At that time, I was still living in Brazil, and the internet was not good enough to get information and buy tickets.

"Because I couldn't get a ticket, I was afraid of not being able to to see the games. I gave up at the last minute and invested a part of that money to come to Australia in 2004," Vladimir says.

But he held on to the dream for two more years.

In 2006, already a permanent resident in Australia, he finally fulfilled his dream by going to the World Cup in Germany without a ticket for the match. And from that year on, he has not stopped.

“I couldn't get a ticket, but I still went anyway. Once I got there, I bought a ticket for each of the Brazil games in the first phase of the competition. My first World Cup was terrific, an incredible experience," Vladimir recalls.

And there, I decided to go to every World Cup until the last day of my life.

Vladimir Costa, from Sydney.

"In 2010, I went to the South African cup. It was fantastic because South Africa is a big country, and I had the opportunity to travel around it in a motorhome.

"Then, I went to Brazil in 2014. It was amazing. Brazil is the country of football and it was awesome to witness the party there.

"I went to the World Cup in Russia, a gigantic country where I made many friends and watched most of Brazil's matches.

This time around, I'm going to Qatar — my fifth World Cup.

"And I think it will be incredible, especially because this competition is happening in an Arabic country for the first time," Vladimir tells SBS Portuguese.

Vladimir's Australian-Brazilian World Cup troupe includes José Marcio Santos from Rio. In Australia since 2002, he has owned an events company in Sydney. Qatar will be his fourth World Cup.

José Marcio Santos and Vladimir Costa (L) at the World Cup in Russia in 2018.

In each World Cup, we meet many people with the same vibe. We match the next one and live a different emotion each time.

José Marcio Santos, from Sydney.

"To participate in this event is the coolest thing, especially in the competition's group stage, where you get to see all the teams.

"After the Round of 16, the number of teams decreases and consequently, the number of fans decreases as well," he adds.

It is magical, absolutely magical, to participate in the World Cup. I recommend it to everyone, football lovers or not. I could not be more excited, thrilled to be a part of it, thank God.

Rui Ferrari has lived in Australia since 2005.

Born in Vila Velha, he is a train traffic controller in Sydney.

He is thrilled at the opportunity to accompany both the Brazilian and Australian teams to Qatar.

After the Socceroos qualified for the Cup, he decided to travel to Qatar. And he will now see nothing less than 23 matches there.

“I am very grateful for everything that Australia has given me... Australia beat Peru, and I said it was the opportunity of my life. I always dreamed of going to the World Cup.

I'm very Australian... I wanted to have the opportunity to watch Brazil's games, of course, but I wanted to see Australia playing too.

Rui Ferrari, from Sydney.

"It just clicked for me to go to the World Cup when Australia qualified," he says.

A fanatic Corinthians' fan, Rui did not have an easy childhood and never saw the national team in Brazil.

He first saw a Corinthians' game at the stadium at the Club World Cup in Japan in 2012. And now he is off to the World Cup to see 23 games.

He is thrilled with Qatar's "unprecedented logistical ease" in this World Cup.

Rui Ferrari is excited to catch 23 games at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

This World Cup in Qatar is an exceptional event. It will be the first time in the history of the Cup that all countries and all games will be in the same city. I bought tickets for 23 games.

Rui Ferrari, from Sydney.

"I will watch all Australia and Brazil matches and have two games daily.

"It will be as follows: finishing a game, taking a bus (an hour's journey), reaching another stadium. This has never happened before. I know friends who went to Russia and had to stay 20 hours on a train to see Brazil play," Rui says excitedly.

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