Brazil House in Narayanganj first caught the attention during the 2014 Fifa World Cup four years ago in Brazil. The growing interest with regards to the six-storey building, with the Brazilian flag painted all over the walls, doubled this time around, even before the beginning of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
But the enthusiasm has exceeded all its previous limits Friday when the Brazilian Ambassador in Dhaka, Joao Tabajara de Oliveira Junior visited the house, along with two officials from the Brazil Embassy in Dhaka, including councilor Milton de Figueiredo Coutinho Filho, and three journalists from a Brazilian TV channel. They watched their country's second Group E encounter against Costa Rica.
The cheerful Brazilians enjoyed the evening, watching Neymar and Co claim their first win in this edition on the screen, along with a vibrant group of Brazilian football enthusiasts in Bangladesh. An hour before kick-off, the guests were given a reception by the Bangladesh-Brazil Football Fans Club where the owner of the Brazil House, Joynal Abedin Tutul handed over a model of his unique house to the Brazilian Ambassador.
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"Today Brazil is here. Today Brazil found a house in Bangladesh. Thank you all for warm reception. This is symbol of our friendship. Today we are more than fans. Today we are brothers," said an emotional Oliveira Junior during his short speech in front of hundreds of Brazil fans.
The street leading upto the Brazil House in Fatullah's Lalpur area was flanked with numerous Brazil flags on both of its sides. The adjacent roads in front of the house were crowded with Brazil fans wearing the team's home and away jerseys. The interior of the house has everything to remind the guests why it was named after their country, from the ground floor, stairways and right to the drawing room and rooftop.
Tutul first painted his house yellow and green during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa when it was a two-storey building, a framed picture of which is hanging on the wall inside the house. Tutul informed that the house caught BBC World's attention during the 2014 World Cup while it was being expanded to a six-storey building.
"This time around, the interest on Brazil Bari is more than ever. The news spread to Brazil Embassy as well and they contacted us earlier this month to pay a visit. We Brazil fans organised a get-together and it was a real honour for us to have the Ambassador beside us on this special day," said Tutul to Dhaka Tribune, minutes before the kick-off of the Brazil-Costa Rica game.