She devotedly saved with eyes set on flying to Brazil

Mukami (Right) takes part in a fanfare alongside south african football fans in the last world cup (PHOTOS; COURTESY)

Kenya: Since early last year, Joyce Mukami Wambora, 24, has been devotedly making savings with her eyes firmly set on one thing; flying to Brazil to watch the World Cup finals that kick off on Thursday.

Her mission has been accomplished and she will jet out of the country tomorrow, enroute to South America where she will be a spectator as the world’s top footballing nations battle it out for the ultimate prize in the sport.

She will be visiting diverse cities to watch various teams in action.

Mukami, an advocate of the High Court who works in the legal department at the Cooperative Bank of Kenya, is among the few Kenyans who will be lucky to watch the World Cup finals live from the stands in what has been billed across the world as a not-so-pocket-friendly outing.

Over the three weeks, Mukami and her friend expect to jointly spend well more than Sh800,000 on air tickets, accommodation, meals and other expenses.

“It is a dream come true for me. This is a chance I had to take,” says a jovial Mukami.

But you are mistaken if you think the young advocate will be just another joy rider hell-bent on merely partying in Brazil. She is a football fanatic from her childhood and eats, drinks and sleeps football.

“I played football in the estates when young, played for the Rusinga Group of Schools, and later played for the University of Liverpool when studying for my Law degree in the United Kingdom. I still play football when I get the chance,” she says. It is while in the UK that the advocate was introduced to big-time football. An ardent Arsenal fan, she has cheered her favourite team from the stands twice.

This was before she was forced to do what she terms odd jobs in a bid to raise funds and be part of the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.

 As a young student in England with no source of income, and with the first such finals in Africa fast approaching, Mukami says she decided to think out of the box to be part of the fanfare.

 She managed to make it to South Africa where she stayed for 21 days and watched Brazil, Ivory Coast, Argentina, Nigeria, France and Mexico in action.