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Brazil plan India visit after viral World Cup scenes show thousands of fans wearing Selecao jerseys
Brazil are in advanced talks to play a friendly in Kolkata in October after viral World Cup scenes highlighted the Selecao's huge fanbase in India.
Brazil are in advanced discussions to play an international friendly in India later this year, with Kolkata emerging as the likely host city for a match in early October. According to ESPN Brasil, negotiations between the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) and organisers in India are progressing, with only final contractual details reportedly left to be resolved. Estadão subsequently also confirmed the talks.
However, Brazil's opponent has not yet been decided, meaning there is no confirmation at this stage that the five-time world champions will face the Indian national team.
The discussions reportedly began during the 2026 FIFA World Cup after images and videos of thousands of Indian supporters wearing Brazil shirts and celebrating the Selecao went viral. The extraordinary scenes caught attention in Brazil and played a role in opening talks over bringing the national team to India.
Kolkata was among the major centres of Brazil support during the tournament, with streets decorated in yellow and green and fans turning out in large numbers wearing Brazil jerseys. Similar scenes were also seen in Kerala and other parts of the country, while Brazil continue to enjoy an enormous following in neighbouring Bangladesh.
Brazil planning three-match international window
The proposed India friendly would complete a three-match programme for Brazil during the extended FIFA international window running from September 21 to October 6. Brazil already have two confirmed matches against Australia. They will face the Socceroos in Townsville on September 25 before meeting them again at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on September 29.
The Kolkata fixture is expected to be staged after those two matches, placing it in the opening days of October. Brazil had also explored the possibility of playing a fourth match during the window, with Bangladesh among the countries involved in discussions. However, the CBF reportedly decided against playing four games because of concerns over travel, player recovery and preparation.
Singapore had also held discussions over hosting Brazil, but no agreement was reached. The proposed Kolkata match would therefore allow the CBF to capitalise on Brazil's enormous popularity across the Indian subcontinent while keeping its schedule limited to three games.
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One issue still to be resolved is the identity of Brazil's opponent. European teams are largely unavailable during the period because of their own competitive international schedules, reducing the pool of possible opponents.
For Kolkata, the visit would add another chapter to the city's long relationship with Brazilian football. Pele famously played there with New York Cosmos against Mohun Bagan at Eden Gardens in 1977 before returning to the city decades later.
Neither the CBF nor the Indian football authorities have officially announced the fixture yet. But with negotiations reportedly in their final stages, Brazil could return to one of their strongest overseas fanbases just months after India's remarkable World Cup support helped trigger the discussions.
