Rezaul Hossain, The sole representative from Bangladesh in the FIFA WORLD CUP Using facebook like a daily task was happened so many days before to me. Being a freak of football, doing analysis of football teams, giving suggestions, talking with friends and mates about it is the loveliest thing for me in this world. However, getting a link from a foreign friend about registration of Official FIFA World Cup Volunteer 2014 in Brazil was the first step of my journey. What is thought to be!! just started my preparations of this selection process. Though I applied just as a formality , did not know I would be selected or not. My hope was surely very little because hearing about around 200000 applicants and only 1000 will get selected from the world. Adding more is, if I get selected I would be the first volunteer from Bangladesh in the history of the FIFA world cup. However, The first step of the selection process was filling the 7 page registration form of giving every detailed data. In the world cup there were 14000 volunteers who worked, among them 13000 from homeland Brazil and the rest and best 1000 were from around the world. There were long 2 years and 5 deadly steps of this selection process. After filling the registration form, around 1.5 months passed. One day I just logged in my mailbox to check my university faculty email. Before that I almost have forgotten the stuffs about this selection process. The thing is , when I logged in I saw a mail from FIFA , stating that my form is granted and I have to set a schedule for Online Skype Video interview. I hardly given any practical interview in my life , how can I give online interview!! Surely a mission impossible 5 it is! After that I set a schedule of my interview. At the appointed time they call me on my skype and took my interview. I have to say I gave a very good interview confidently. The duration of the interview was 28 minutes and they ask me around 22 questions like tricky, analytical, experience and normal queries. After getting through the Interview I was shifted on the next step of selection process. Its general online training. There were 4 courses I had to complete. The courses were 1.FIFA WORLD CUP, 2.Brazil Football, 3.Volunteers work, 4.Volunteers Area. After these courses there was a small test I had to give. I got selected in that step also. After that a language test they asked me to give, either English or Spanish. I’ve chosen English. It was like an IELTS test as far as I can remember. I got 97% at that language test. After that they took my availability, where I wanted to work and in which position I wanted to work etc. after passing long 2 months around I got the final confirmation letter from FIFA. The letter was telling I got selected as a Spectator Service Volunteer in the dream city Rio de Janeiro. With lots of curiosity and hard time of getting the VISA of Brazil! Finally , I am in Rio, Galeao International Airport. I stepped at Rio on 4th of June, 12 am morning. My internal curiosity just boomed 3x 4x times than the highest. I am now in the very awaiting , most beautiful and the city of football Rio de Janeiro. Living the dream just got started. I forgot my 37 hours long plane journey which has 2 transits as well. Though it was very hard for me to communicate with the local persons of Rio because, most of them does not know English and I don’t know Portuguese at all. Somehow I able to make them understand what I was looking for and I was trying to say. By the time has passed I came to know some Portuguese words which were very helpful to me to communicate. Thank you is “Obrigado” , Good morning is “Bom Dia”, Welcome is “Bem Vindo”. During my training dates from 7th to 9th June I came to know the every single point and details of the world cup and Maracana stadium. I was so amused that , last year at the Confederations Cup I saw this stadium on TV and now I am standing on the pitch of Maracana holding my Bangladesh Flag. Just the dream became true for me and feeling so proud to be telling that I was the only one who hold Bangladeshi flag on the pitch of maracana in front of the whole world. I worked in all the 7 matches held in Maracana including the Grand Final of Germany vs Argentina. Luckily I got my duty inside of the stadium during the match time. So technically seeing the matches live from the stands was easy to me. Even the last goal of Mario Gotze in the Final I was standing just beside of the cross bar. The history just made near about 20 feet distance in front of me. I spend my best 48 days of my life in Rio de Janeiro. During these days when I get off days I visited many beautiful places of Rio. I was feeling very proud when I was telling about my country to other people of this world. Where people hardly know about Bangladesh, now because of me most of them know about Bangladesh and also know that we are a football loving nation. The experience after, during and before of this World cup was the best thing happened to me in my Life. It’s really a great opportunity for me to grab and show the world that participations from Bangladesh is also very important in the Greatest show on earth. If I get the proper opportunity I want to use my experience in Bangladesh Football and I want to work for developing the Football of my country. Though it was not intended to get anything from the event, from Rio, but I can say the whole Tournament has given me A lot. Despite of putting around 5 lacs taka from my own pocket for making this dream happen, I never did regret of this money and I never will. I just wanted to show my Bangladesh flag in front of the whole world and to show the world that we Bangladeshi also can do. The person who shared the experiences and the achievements is this year’s only FIFA WORLD CUP 2014 Brazil official volunteer Rezaul Hossain Anik from North South University. Who beard all his expenses by his own to make this achievement for his country. We should really appreciate his job and achievement which he did for our country.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 16:34:08 +0000
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