WHAT'S A GRECIAN EARN?

Exeter City will play a “Brazilian XI” match on the 20th July at Estadio das Laranjeiras in Rio de Janeiro, where the original fixture between Exeter and an embryonic international Brazilian XI took place in 1914, after being chosen by the Football Association as a "representative" English team to fulfil an ambassadorial fixture. After playing games in Argentina, Exeter played three matches in Brazil, even beating Rio De Janeiro.

The Brazilians then selected an ultimate side from Rio and Sao Paulo combined to beat the professionals, which they did 2-0 and the national team was born. In the end, Exeter won five games and lost one on the tour.

One week after the 2014 World Cup concludes just four miles away at Rio's Maracana Stadium, Exeter City will be playing this centenary game. The two sides will wear replica kits from the game 100 years earlier and will kick off with the original ball.

Fluminense, who have undertaken to finance City's trip to Brazil, will try to include "guest" players from other clubs in Brazil to try to replicate the original fixture.

A Brazil Masters' side faced Exeter in 2004 to commemorate the Grecians' centenary.Exeter City finished 16^th in the SkyBet League 2 this season and their next big pre-season match is against Weston-Super-Mare in a friendly. Come on the Grecians! Why the Grecians?

Exeter City football club formed from the predecessor club St Sidwells United in 1904. People living in the parish of St Sidwells in Exeter have been known as "Greeks" or "Grecians" for many centuries, as noted in Southey's Common-Place Book in 1669. This is possibly due to the parish's location outside the city walls. In Homer’s epic poem "The Illiad”, the Greek forces laid siege to the walls of Troy. The association possibly arose because of rivalries between city boys and St Sidwellians during the annual beating the bounds.