Unlike the FIFA World Cup 2014, the Olympic games now being held in Brazil has not been able to kick up as much following and enthusiasm among Qatar residents, including Latin American expatriates , it is learnt.

With a 6-hour time difference between Qatar and Brazil, a lot of people in the country prefer to sleep after work than to stay awake to watch some of the events held late in the day.

A Peruvian national, an employee at a five-star hotel in Doha, told Gulf Times she was not even aware that the Olympics had started.

“I think a lot of people like me are too busy with work and have no time to watch the games at night or early morning except for football,” she said.

According to a number of expatriates, many people in Qatar want to follow the games daily particularly the sport they are passionate with. However, the schedule of the matches does not go well with their free time, which usually fall at dawn or early morning when it is time for them to report to work.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that many Brazilians did not have the chance to travel back home to watch the games for some reasons.

Leandro Cardoso Feliciano told Gulf Times that he recently took a 15-day leave to travel to Brazil to attend his grandmother’s birthday.

“Unfortunately I won’t be able to make it,” he said. “I didn’t have a television in my room, but now I bought one so when I get home from work I can at least see the highlights.”

“For the first time I am staying awake until 4am so I can watch the Brazil football team in action,” added Feliciano, a computer engineer, who also had the opportunity to watch the opening ceremony.

“I was really proud of it. I had my doubts if we were going to make it happen but we did, and we made it happen amazingly,” he stressed. “It actually showed the music and things I grew up with, and they nailed it, it was awesome.”

He noted that Brazilians are passionate about sports, from football to various disciplines such as judo, volleyball, beach volleyball, and gymnastics, among others.

About hosting the games, he supports the move saying it will showcase what Brazilians are capable of despite the ongoing political crisis in their country.

Contrary to claims that holding the Olympics will harm Brazil’s economy, Feliciano believes the event will further boost their tourism industry and generate more income.

“We are totally for it, and I think it would leave a legacy for our future sport, there will be facilities, a lot of places for our athletes to train and get proper training, so in the long run it is really good for the country,” he noted.

Asked if the Brazilian community members gather to watch the games together, he said they were not able to do so since their schedules did not match and some sports they want to watch take place either late at night or early morning.

Some Brazilians, as well as other South and Latin American expatriates in Qatar, who work as cabin crew cannot watch the games regularly (or not at all) since they spend most of their time on the plane.