Can you tell us about who you are and your relationship with football?

I am beyond fortunate as I get to travel around and discover football culture and call it "work." I freelance in content creation, I am a football writer and I also teach languages to footballers, coaches, agents etc as part of a football specific language business called Lingol that I set up. I got to a point where I decided that whatever I was doing to pay the bills had to involve football. Now, that is the case, so I'm absolutely delighted.

Now tell us about Várzea, and how your found out about it.

Várzea doesn't really translate into English but I would describe it as Brazil's answer to Sunday league. It's similar because it's amateur football played on a Sunday but bar that it couldn't be much more different. Usually games are played on dirt pitches and teams represent their favela or neighbourhood. Games get fiery and the stands fill up with small but passionate organised fan groups who bring flags and flares in support of their team. Várzea is huge in São Paulo and Sunday is a sacred day of football.

What’s the energy like in the neighborhood? Is it friendly? Fierce? A bit of both?

In both Maúa and Kennedy I was welcomed with open arms. People were super friendly and the surroundings felt very safe. I often find that some of the places where people are most skeptical to visit is where the people are most warm. They want the best for their neighbourhood just like anybody else would and they want visitors to take that message with them. The on-field action in Maùa was as heated as anywhere else on the planet, but the off-field action was certainly the most impressive I have seen for local amateur football.