Great (British) news for Exeter City in Brazil
Thanks to the support of the British Consulate in Rio de Janeiro, Exeter City will be flying the flag for Great Britain during the clubs historic return to Brazil, 100 years after becoming the first team to play the Brazilian national team in 1914.
The Grecians will have Great Britain and a Union Jack on the front of the club’s traditional red and white striped shirts, something that the club is extremely proud to be doing.
Julian Tagg, the club’s Vice-Chairman and Executive Director of Sport said: “To be supported by the Consulate like this has made a big difference to our ability to remake history and to lay down another legacy for the next 100 years.
“We will do this with the City of Exeter crest on our shirt, being our club badge, the name of our own Exeter College on the back of the shirts, and now the national flag of our country on the front of our shirts, thanks to the Consulate. The pictorial and written record of our 2014 trip will be handed down once again through the generations and will show we genuinely ‘flew the flag’.”
Paula Walsh, United Kingdom’s Consul-General in Rio de Janeiro, said: “The UK and Brazil share a history and passion for football. Through sport we can strengthen our relationships, both on and off the pitch.”
The original match was played in the Laranjeiras Stadium in Rio De Janeiro and it is in that same atmospheric arena that the Grecians will return to 100 years later to play stadium owners Fluminense on Sunday 20th July 2014, getting underway at 10.30 am local time and kicking off with the original ball, which is kept in the Fluminense club museum.
Later in the week, Exeter City will play Tupi at the University Stadium in Juiz de Fora, kicking off at 7.30pm local time, and then will finish the tour with a game against Rio Cricket e Associação Atlética, starting at 1pm local time.