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Tag: Brazilian

  • How WASCA, Brazilian firm’s partnership will boost agro-tourism, economic development

    How WASCA, Brazilian firm’s partnership will boost agro-tourism, economic development

    The West Africa Specialty Coffee Association (WASCA) has concluded plans with Brazilian firm, Kukuza Agronegocio, it’s development partner, to host a training programme for Nigerian stakeholders in the coffee industry.

    It is scheduled for March 6 to 20, 2026 in Brazil, the epicenter of coffee production and trade worldwide. The programme is aimed at assisting Nigeria to boost her economy through agro tourism and enhanced production of coffee which is a widely sought-after commodity.

    In a statement, WASCA revealed that participants would be able to learn about global coffee quality practices and sustainable farming practices and Brazil’s coffee heritage, including Cooperative Management.

    The statement added that the training programme would comprise of field immersion, cooperative visits, laboratory training and strategic planning engaging different stakeholders in the Brazilian value chain.

    Read Also: First Lady empowers Lagos residents, unveils plans for elderly support nationwide

    In 2023, Nigeria exported US$109k of Coffee, making it the 136th largest exporter of Coffee (out of 199) in the world. The country is reported to be currently  importing 95 percent of the coffee it consumes, despite its propensity for increased production.

     Coffee remains the the 5th traded commodity on the Global market today.

    According to WASCA’s President, Larry Segun-Lean, participants would engage in hands-on training in processing fermentation, drying and cupping of coffee seeds.“They would be able to master quality and marketing from farm to cup, learn how branding, story telling and direct trade open premium markets, “ he disclosed.

    They would also explore climate-resilient farming, agro ecology and income diversification as well as evaluate governance models from successful coffee producing states, and compare them with the current infrastructure in Nigeria.

    “All these have great implications for the coffee producing states in Nigeria, who by the way, are expected to be on ground in Brazil should they desire to boost their states’ revenue, “ the WASCA boss further reiterated.

    On addressing poverty and enhancing the welfare of those engaged or interested in the coffee industry in Nigeria, Segun-Lean said participants would be visiting family-run farms and study the Araponga co-operative model to learn how organisation boosts farmer power and market values.“It is time to learn from the masters and boost our national and individual economy,” he concluded.

    Recall that Nigerian states engaged in coffee farming include Oyo, Ondo, Ogun, Taraba, Kogi, Cross River, Plateau, Ekiti and Benue. Others are Edo, Akwa Ibom, Adamawa, Bauchi, Delta and Abia.

  • Brazilian owns world’s largest 6,101 shirt collection

    Brazilian owns world’s largest 6,101 shirt collection

    Brazilian Cassio Brandao walks through rooms filled with clothes racks that in April made him a Guinness World Records title holder as the owner of the world’s largest collection of soccer shirts.

    From rare Pele jerseys to a 1998 World Cup shirt signed by Ronaldo, the 41-year-old Google employee has amassed a total 6,101 shirts since he started collecting them in 2000.

    “They are more than just 6,101 pieces of fabric; they are 6,101 stories that help us tell a bit of the history of soccer,” Brandao told Reuters as, wearing white gloves, he took out some of his favourite items.

    He keeps his shirts at the office of a collectors club he founded in Sao Paulo, “Alambrado Soccer & Culture,” bringing together 60 people who trade stories and jerseys – some worth up to 40,000 reais ($7,400).

    Brandao’s collection includes the shirt worn by Pele when the Brazilian player nicknamed “The King” met Britain’s Queen Elizabeth in 1968. She was the guest of honour at a match at Rio de Janeiro’s monumental Maracana stadium during an official visit to Brazil.

    Read Also: WTT Contender Lagos: Brazilian Calderano sends warning signals to Aruna, others

    Pele is the star of the Alambrado office, which is decorated with signed shirts and framed pictures of the late soccer great, who died in December 2022.

    “Some shirts can go up to 40,000 reais, but a Pele shirt is priceless,” Brandao said.

    He also displays a 1994 Brazil jacket worn by seven times Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton at last year’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix, when the British driver – an honorary Brazilian citizen – asked to borrow the outfit.

    A large part of Brandao’s collection is dedicated to his favourite club, local side Corinthians, including jerseys from Ronaldo’s spell at the club and shirts worn by his favourite player Socrates.

    “Each shirt contains a story,” Brandao said. “Stories of wins, losses, and overcoming. Stories that document a bit of the world’s greatest sport.

  • WTT Contender Lagos: Brazilian Calderano sends warning signals to Aruna, others

    WTT Contender Lagos: Brazilian Calderano sends warning signals to Aruna, others

    World No. 6 Hugo Calderano has sent warning signals to local hero Quadri Aruna and other stars listed for the WTT Contender Lagos after the Brazilian claimed the men’s singles title at the WTT Contender Rio de Janeiro 2024.

    The Brazilian, who is one of the star players heading to Nigeria for the second edition of the first WTT Series in Sub-Saharan Africa, defeated 6th  seed An Jaehyun of South Korea in straight games (11-7, 11-5, 11-5, 11-6) in front  of his home fans.

    “I feel amazing. It’s an amazing atmosphere here, playing here at home. I’m very happy to have won this title here. It was very important to me to win in front of my whole family and a lot of fans from Brazil. I’m delighted to win the trophy,” said Calderano.

    Read Also: Barcelona appoint Flick as new boss

    Champions Calderano was in sizzling form, dropping just one game on his way to the title this week. The dazzling play by the Rio locals was driven by the fans in yellow and green in the crowd. From the stands, there were cheers for every point as the bleachers sounded their trumpets and beat their drums. It was a victory that was homegrown in every sense of the word.

    “Sport is never easy, but it’s all worth it when you have moments like this. It was a great, great atmosphere here, so thank you very much to everyone that supported me in the venue and also at home. Thank you all very much,” the Brazilian star added.

  • Brazilian singer Darlyn Morais dies of spider bite

    Brazilian singer Darlyn Morais dies of spider bite

    Popular Brazilian singer, Darlyn Morais has sadly passed on from the bite of a spider.

    Morais became ill after being bitten by a spider on October 31, at his home in the northeastern city of Miranorte.

    Also, his 18-year-old stepdaughter, who also suffered a spider bite, is currently hospitalised.

    The singer’s wife, Jhullyenny Lisboa told the Brazilian news outlet, G1 that the stepdaughter was in stable condition.

    Read Also: Palace sign Brazilian teenage Franca

    She said Morais began to experience symptoms of fatigue and noticed a change in the colour of the bruise on his face following the spider bite.

    She said: “He felt weakness in his body and his face started to darken on the same day. Morais developed allergic reactions later during the week and visited a hospital in Miranorte, where he was treated and discharged Friday.”

  • Brazil Supreme Court rejects latest Lula appeal to run for presidency

    Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Thursday rejected the latest appeal by jailed former president Lula da Silva that he is allowed to run in next month’s election.

    Justice Edson Fachin, in a decision posted on the court’s website, ruled against the request from Lula’s legal team, which argued that Brazil was required to follow the recommendation of the UN Human Rights Committee and allow Lula to run for office from jail.

    Lula, Brazil’s most popular politician is serving a 12-year sentence for a corruption conviction.

    His Workers Party registered him as its presidential candidate for the Oct. 7 vote anyway, saying he is innocent.

    Lula is ineligible for office under Brazil’s “Clean Slate” law, which prohibits candidates from running if they have convictions that have been upheld on appeal.

    Read Also: Corruption: Brazil sends ex-president Lula to prison

    In spite of his conviction and several graft cases pending against him, Lula leads the race by a long stretch, with 39 per cent of voter support, according to pollster Datafolha.

    His nearest rival, far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro, has 19 per cent.

    Thursday’s decision was another blow to Lula’s effort to run and pushes the PT closer to choosing former Sao Paulo mayor Fernando Haddad, now running as vice president on the ticket, to stand for the presidency.

  • Brazilian president sends message of support to Super Eagles

    Brazil’s President Michel Temer has expressed his best wishes for Nigeria’s Super Eagles at the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup.
    Temer made this statement of support when Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama,  paid him a courtesy visit in Brasilia.
    A statement by the Media Aide to Onyeama, Ms Sarah Sanda, on Saturday in Abuja, said the minister was on a week working visit to Brazil.
     Temer’s support was coming as Nigeria’s Super Eagles kick off their Russia 2018 World Cup campaign on Saturday, with a match against Croatia.
     The President of Brazil stressed the importance of the historic warm relations between both countries, which has been enhanced by the visit of Nigeria’s Foreign Minister to Brazil.
    Earlier, Onyeama said the objective of his trip was to strengthen the long standing cordial political, economic and socio-cultural relations between Nigeria and Brazil.
    According to him,  it is also to explore new areas of mutual benefit for the two countries.
    Onyeama then  conveyed to Termer, the fraternal greetings of President Muhammadu Buhari  and his optimism of stronger Nigeria-Brazil collaboration in the coming years. (NAN)
  • Splashing cash not enough for PSG to deliver in UEFA

    Splashing cash not enough for PSG to deliver in UEFA

    The early exit of Paris St Germain ( PSG ) from the UEFA Champions League again showed the club’s inability to deliver on the biggest stage in spite of their expensively-assembled team.

    The French League 1 leaders were knocked out in the last 16 by Real Madrid 5-2 on aggregate.

    They lost 1-2 at the Parc des Princes in Paris on Tuesday, never threatening a comeback following their 1-3 defeat in the first leg in Spain.

    Without Neymar, who is recovering from ankle surgery, Unai Emery’s side failed to create space against the defending champions.

    “All that for this,” wrote French sports daily L’Equipe on their front page.

    “PSG disappeared without leaving a trace,” the paper wrote in a column.

    Since Qatar Sports Investments ( QSI ) took over in 2011, PSG have never reached the semi-finals of the Champions League.

    The French champions were eliminated in the last 16 twice in a row after four consecutive quarter-final exits.

    Spending 400 million euros ( $497 million ) on Neymar and France international Kylian Mbappe did not help.

    The Brazilian played poorly in the first leg and his striking partner was nowhere to be seen on Tuesday.

    In Ligue 1 however, PSG lead the standings by a massive 14 points after 28 games.

    However, it could be said that they lack the competitiveness of a bigger league to prepare them for the Champions League knockout stage.

    Former AC Milan coach Arrigo Sacchi, however, believes the club founded in 1970 have to build their identity.

    Read Also: Heineken opens viewing centres for UEFA Champions League in Nigeria

    “PSG is just a group of players,” he told Italian TV.

    “You cannot buy ideas. The club should always come first. I thought I would see players with the bit between their teeth. I think PSG need to become an institution.”

    PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi said he was “disappointed by a few players,” among which should feature midfielder Marco Verratti, who picked up a second yellow card for arguing with referee Felix Brych.

    It was Verratti’s third dismissal in the Champions League, and it appeared to seal his team’s fate as they already were 1-0 down after Cristiano Ronaldo’s opener.

    Al-Khelaifi, however, is convinced the club’s method is the right one.

    “I don’t think it’s a mindset problem. The players believed in it and we were ready,” he said.

    “We will not change our investment strategy. We will continue with our project notably with those two players ( Neymar and Mbappe ) because they are the future of the club.”

    NAN

  • 2018 FIFA World Cup ticket sales resumes on Thursday

    2018 FIFA World Cup ticket sales resumes on Thursday

    Ticket sales for the world’s biggest football event, the 2018 FIFA World Cup, will resume on Thursday on a first-come first-served basis.

    A total of 622,117 tickets were successfully allocated to subscribers, even though this was subject to payment being made later.

    This was also at the conclusion of the first window of sales phase from Oct. 1 to Oct. 12.

    According to a report by the FIFA Media Office on Tuesday, some 3,496,204 tickets had initially been requested with many ticket products and matches being heavily oversubscribed.

    This requires the allocation of tickets through a random selection draw process carried out in the presence of a public notary.

    During this process FIFA also identified a number of ticket applications which were not eligible to enter into the random selection draw.

    For example, ticket applications for team-specific ticket series — for teams that are no longer able to qualify — as well as ticket applications that violated the household restrictions.

    This is in the category of applying for a maximum of four tickets for up to seven matches.

    From the total number of applications, majority have come from Russia, and based on results of the Random Selection Draw process 57 percent of tickets were allocated to Russian fans.

    Tickets allocated to international fans account for 43 percent of the total number of allocated tickets.

    The US, Chinese, German, Brazilian, Israeli, English, Finnish, Mexican and French fans all rank in the top ten in this category.

    During the upcoming sales period, which starts on Thursday and end on Nov. 28, fans will be able to purchase tickets in real time on FIFA.com/tickets.

    They will get immediate confirmation of successful applications, subject to availability.

    Football fans were advised to place their order as soon as the sales period opens.

    This is because high demand is expected and the remaining inventory following the random selection draw sales period was likely to sell out very quickly.

    Tickets purchased during sales phases 1 and 2 will be delivered free of charge to fans in the weeks leading up to the tournament.

    Deliveries have been planned to start in April or May of 2018, even though this is subject to change.

    Tickets may be purchased using payment cards of Visa, the Official Payment Services Partner of FIFA.

    Purchases can also be made by other accepted payment methods.

    FIFA’s Head of Ticketing, Falk Eller, said the world football body was already overwhelmed by the positive response from both Russian and international fans so far.

    “’With only a few teams still to qualify, we are again expecting high demand once sales resume on Thursday.

    “Considering such remarkable interest in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia from fans all over the world, we will like to once again stress that the only official, legitimate and user-friendly source to purchase tickets is the FIFA.com/tickets website.

    “Fans who purchase tickets from other sources put themselves at significant risk of missing out on the World Cup, and of course we will not want that to happen.

    “Category 4 tickets, which are exclusively reserved for Russian residents, will not be available for purchase during the upcoming first-come, first-served sales period.

    “This is due to the full allocation of the currently available category four tickets during the previous sales period.

    “FIFA will also make a dedicated allocation of tickets available for disabled people, people with limited mobility and fans classified as obese,” Eller said.

    NAN

  • Plane carrying Brazilian football team crashes, 76 feared dead

    A chartered flight carrying 81 persons, including members of the Brazilian first division football team has crashed.
    76 persons are feared dead, while five persons survived.

  • ‘Non-direct flights hindering Nigerian, Brazilian trade’

    The President, Nigerian-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NBCCI),Mr Emmanuel Ibru, has decried the absence of direct flights between Nigeria and Brazil,saying it is the major hindrance to trade between both countries.

    He said for Nigeria to tap into the Brazilian government’s new policy to internationalise its businesses,there must be direct flights as  it was 25 years ago.

    He said this over the weekend at a meeting of the Chamber in Lagos.

    He said: “Currently, it takes about 14 hours to travel to Brazil as a result of taking connecting flights instead of the six hours’ direct flight would have made possible and this is not good for trade and investmenty.”

    “Taking connecting flight is expensive for both business and tourism; Dubai is eight hours,yet people still go there because there’s a direct flight and Brazil has a lot to offer Nigeria, culturally, too, as direct flights will opened up trade between the countries.”

    He said the balance of trade between the countries is skewed in favour of Nigeria, adding that Nigeria was the main exporter of oil to Brazil, which was  $7billion per year.

    Ibru continued:”We looked at what Brazil did years ago as Nigeria is at where Brazil was 25 years ago and we want to replicate the same here as we feel there’s a lot of experience and technical know-how to grow our trade and improve the economy that we can learn from Brazil.

    “There’s potential for a lot of intercontinental trade and investments. We have a lot of resources that technical know-how from Brazil can help develop as we have the same terrainy,beliefs and, basically, the chamber is there to facilitate that and others.’’

    The Vice Consul, General Consulate of Brazil, Mrs Benedita Simonetti, said Brazilian firms are eager to take advantage of the business opportunities in Nigeria,but that they are afraid due to lack of information.

    She said Brazilian business owners believed that Africa is a closed market as the Chinese and Indians has taken over, coupled with unstable government policies and news of corruptiony, Nigerian business owners has to reach out more for investment partners from Brazil.