In the lead-up to the opening match of the Fifa World Cup on Monday, excitement is building among football fans.
"We can live in another country, but for football fans it is like a religion. We will watch and cheer for our teams," Brazilian supporter Diana Lima said.
Many football fans believed there was a different kind of atmosphere watching the World Cup from New Zealand.
Japanese national Rio Okuyama said it was weird to be days out from the start of the competition and not hear much about it.
"It is very strange. In Japan, everybody loves football and lives the sport pretty much 24/7.
"Down here football is usually the second or third choice sport. So it is very strange to have people who don’t care about the World Cup," he said, laughing.
He would be watching the games with his wife at home, he said.
"Back home we would probably go to a pub to watch the game, but we will just watch from home.
"She loves football as well so we will make the most of it."
Although football was not the main sport of his country, Invercargill man Glenn Marshall was hooked when he was a teenager.
"I have played football since I was a kid. And when I was a teenager I became a huge Chelsea supporter because of Jose Mourinho [coach] — he is great.
"Although it is quite popular in the country, football is not a national sport. It is not like the All Blacks! But a lot of my friends are football fans."
As many games were at 5am or in the morning, he would not be able to follow all the games.
"But I will probably wake up for the good games and take time off from work for the finals."
Southland Football manager Iain Walker said the sport was growing in the region and he hoped the Women’s World Cup next year in New Zealand would make it even more popular.
"We felt an increase in numbers at Southland Football in recent years but it is hard, because the youth seems to be less keen to play sports for many different reasons.
"When I moved here decades ago, there were not many football goals — just rugby. But now there are a bunch of them. So I think it will take time, but people are getting more into the sport."
The Fifa World Cup in Qatar runs from Monday to December 19.
