Do you have attending a football (soccer) match in São Paulo on your bucket list in Brazil? There’s a couple that supports rival teams that would love to take you into their world in Brazil: Meet Raphael and Letícia, local hosts in São Paulo. In this blog, they both tells more about themselves, their passion for football, why they became a host on Homefans and why you should go to São Paulo to experience football.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

We are a couple of journalists who are passionate about football. In March 2020, right at the beginning of the pandemic, we decided to put into practice something we had been planning for some time, which was to create a project together about football. What we didn’t know was that the quarantine would last so long, so “Casal Torcedor” also became our way to keep us connected with our favourite sport. Through social networks, we made friends and had the opportunity to produce differentiated content, gaining notoriety mainly on Instagram.

Why do you support your clubs?

We support rival teams here in São Paulo. Raphael is a São Paulo FC fan and Letícia is a Palmeiras fan. This rivalry is the great differentiator of our project because we both love football, are passionate about those teams, love travelling to new stadiums and share the same footballing desires, making the difference in colours and badges just a minor detail in our relationship.

What does the club mean to you and the rest of the city?

For us, football is not just a game. In Brazil, which is known as the ‘Land of Football’, this idea is even stronger. Every Brazilian is born in love with their team. This identification with the club is very important for the formation of citizens and, generally, being in a stadium environment is the first experience of integration into a group that we experience here.

Why did you sign up to become a host on Homefans?

We got to know Homefans through Matheus, our friend from Rio de Janeiro who is already an experienced host on the platform. He invited us to be part of the project and, we accepted immediately. We love travelling to watch football matches and we also love presenting this environment to other people, so it will be a great pleasure to receive fans from all over the world to show a little bit of what we have in São Paulo, the Brazilian state where the strongest football is played.

How is your experience so far as a host on Homefans?

As we signed up with Homefans during the pandemic, we haven’t had the opportunity to have any traveller experience yet, but hopefully, things will soon be back to normal, with the Covid-19 vaccination progressing, and then we can start our journey here. We look forward to it!

What would you say to other people interested in hosting?

If you like football, love travelling to stadiums and, above all, enjoy sharing these experiences with other people, Homefans is the ideal platform to bring it all together! We are really excited about the idea, and can’t wait to start receiving our first guests in São Paulo.

What do you recommend travellers to visit in São Paulo?

Football in São Paulo is the strongest in Brazil. The main elite teams are in our state, but we recommend not only visiting the stadiums of the big teams, but we also want to present an alternative version of this sport: the teams from the suburbs. There are too many good stories worth telling in football played away from the spotlight, incredible stadiums and unique, non-standard experiences.

What’s the typical match day experience like?

In São Paulo, fans already wake up excited on match day. On weekends, the matches usually take place in the afternoon, but early in the morning, the real fan prepares his own ritual that, most of the time, includes wearing his lucky jersey, going early to the stadium to meet his friends from the stands, while enjoying a delicious pork snack, washed down with beer and lots of singing.

Where can people find you on Homefans and what activities are you hosting?

Now, we are still improving the activities we will offer at Homefans, but those interested in following us on this journey can already find us on Instagram @_casaltorcedor or on our direct link here.