With just a few hours to go for the football World Cup to kick off, Brasilia is tense. But here we are not talking about Brazil’s federal capital but the Muslim League councillor of Kozhikode City Corporation, Brasilia. Well, she is a 32-year-old soccer fan and a mother of a seven-month-old baby Rio – initially intended to be named Rio de Janerio.
In Malabar’s soccer-crazy villages, one can easily find several Messi Koyos, Abdul Neymar and Yousef Ronaldo. But Brasilia’s case is different, it is her original name.
Her name caused her much trouble when she was contesting for corporation election four years ago. Argentinean fans locked horns with her and refused to vote for a die-hard Brazil fan. But she won them back saying football was her first love and that she respected arch-rivals equally.
She’s taken a vow to name her house ‘Bazooka’ if her favourite team lifts the cup.
But the obvious question is who gave her the name? When she was born her parents only wanted a name that goes well with her elder sister Badriya. Then her maternal uncle, a die-hard fan of Brazil and a club player, suggested Brasilia. Her parents readily agreed unaware that it was the capital of Brazil.
“I revelled in my name. In college days my seniors used to tease me linking my name with great Brazilian players. But I enjoyed it,” she said. Her husband Shamsuddin, a part-time businessman, is also a soccer aficionado but not like his wife.
{{/usCountry}}“I revelled in my name. In college days my seniors used to tease me linking my name with great Brazilian players. But I enjoyed it,” she said. Her husband Shamsuddin, a part-time businessman, is also a soccer aficionado but not like his wife.
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