Brasilia: Their World Cup love affair began more than three decades ago in Spain. Now 81-year-old Pannalal Chatterjee and his wife Chaitali, 72, are once more heading from cricket-mad India to the ultimate football fiesta.
"This may be my last one, but I am so happy at getting the chance to watch a tournament in Brazil," Pannalal said during a stopover in Singapore on his way to what will be the couple`s ninth World Cup.
"It`s always been my dream to watch the World Cup in Brazil. It`s the Mecca of football," he said.
The Chatterjees, who live in the eastern city of Kolkata, are life-long football fans and Pannalal has been involved as a volunteer administrator for the sport in eastern India since the early 1970s.
They got their first taste of top-level football in 1982 when a friend whom they were staying with in London got them tickets for the tournament in Spain, when a young Diego Maradona first garnered global attention.
"Such was the excitement of the tournament that I was determined from then on not to miss any World Cups in the future," said Pannalal.
Four years later, the Chatterjees were in Mexico when Maradona captained Argentina to victory and lifted the Jules Rimet trophy at the Azteca stadium.
"The final between Argentina and West Germany was unforgettable. The Argentinians won 3-2 and there was so much excitement," he said.
While Maradona remains the ultimate hero of Chaitali, her husband is a staunch fan of Brazil and speaks proudly of the time Pele agreed to pose with them for a photo.The couple, who have no children and live off Pannalal`s monthly pension of 7,500 rupees ($125) from his time as a shipping clerk, scrimp and save all year round to be able to afford their trips every four years.
"For the last four years, I have been holding back from eating my favourite fish and many days my stomach has been half-empty to make sure that we have enough money for this tournament in Brazil," he said.
Chaitali also manages to make a bit of money by making sarees and the couple have a special World Cup fund which they top whenever they can can.
In order to make ends meet in Brazil, the couple have taken some of their own food, including packs of potato chips and packets of tea.
Impressed by their dedication, FIFA is providing them free accommodation in Brazil while a local television company is helping them with the tickets.
In all the years that the couple have been going to the finals, the Indian team has never even gotten close to qualification -- not that the couple have allowed that to dampen their enthusiasm.
Pannalal describes his love of the game as akin to an "addiction" while his wife is able to reel the dates, venues and stars of all the tournaments.
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.