FOREST AWAY: SC Braga, Europa League Game 7, Thursday 22nd January – Fan Guide

This won’t be a surprise to anyone but I have adored our three away games in Europe so far. All have been quite different to each other, and I’ve personally really enjoyed mixing the typical shenanigans with a little bit of sight seeing and culture.

In Amsterdam, as part of the game against Utrecht, I found myself on matchday wandering by myself down the canals in the rough direction of Anne Frank’s house. I’d never been to Amsterdam before and thought it was a good opportunity, with about 8 hours until kick-off, to take a look. I can’t deny it was happy little moment just wandering around a European city, calling in for a plate of pancakes, and exploring a great city before meeting up with everyone else to head over to Utrecht. There is just something bloody exciting doing this in combination with following Forest. A pleasure I’m not sure I’ll ever quite be able to digest.

Similarly, Utrecht was a great city and great to see somewhere I perhaps wouldn’t ordinarily visit. The organisation on show, following some worries about fans being restricted and heavily policed, thankfully weren’t evident and it was brilliant to undertake a decent bar crawl before returning to board the buses to the ground. Aside from the delayed wait to board on the way to the stadium, it was fantastically well executed and credit to the local authorities, Nottinghamshire Police and NFFC for their input. I even heard after the game that there was some relaxation of the rules around boarding the buses back to Utrecht Centraal and some fans were able to slip away as they needed to. It was also brilliant to see and hear how well received the fan zone was which catered for those fans unable to get tickets. I’d like to think we made a great impression on Utrecht, as we did in Seville and Graz. I’m sure the same will happen in the coming days in Braga too.

As with the previous three excursions, I’ve tried to make this guide as detailed as I can. I would again suggest it is read in conjunction with the official guide released by the club for some of the key information.

Due to our position in the Europa League table, it seems very possible that Braga will not be our final away trip in Europe – the prospect of a February play-off is likely, or we may be able to do enough in these next two games to earn direct qualification – but as we find ourselves reaching the point where we don’t know if this will be the final journey let’s hope for another memorable few days. A few of us are flying Wednesday into Porto and heading to Braga the same day, so we might see some of you there Wednesday evening.

Safe and happy travels if you are heading out.

 

AWAY DAY No.17 – SC Braga, Thursday 22^nd January, Europa League Game 7, 8pm KO (Portuguese time)

~ There is a strict requirement to show your passport to collect your tickets from the designated location (more on this below), but as with Graz / Utrecht there is no requirement for a passport to be shown at the ground as far as I am aware. It is, however, recommended to keep some form of I.D on your person.

~ Advice shared in the Graz / Utrecht issue of this away guide and elsewhere regarding the collection of biometric data at passport control to meet new security requirements created a little bit of worry. There was no obvious logic to how this was applied; most of our flight into Vienna had their face scanned and fingerprints taken and into Amsterdam I didn’t hear of anyone having it done. I would say it did increase wait times, which I know is a worry if landing on the day of the game, but I didn’t hear of anyone getting stuck for ages. If you have yet to have this biometric data taken then there is a fair chance it may happen when arriving into Portugal but if you had this done previously it won’t be taken again.

~ While certainly not acting in any official role I’ve agreed to be the nominated fan representative in the UEFA information documents that Nottinghamshire Police submitted back in the summer. I don’t believe this has any specific role attached to it but I’ll help wherever I can, or at least try and get you in contact with people who can. This role so far has largely consisted of local authorities suggesting that we encourage fans to get to the ground earlier, and me suggesting otherwise, but in Utrecht I did find the role worked very well with me having some extensive comms with people on the Utrecht side and seeking answers on various things. A word for PC Simon Travell here who makes many of these intros for me, and goes to great lengths to stress that Forza Garibaldi are not ultras! Should there be any items not covered in this guide that you want to find out please let me know. I’d suggest the best option is to e-mail us at [email protected] or DM us on social media, preferably Twitter / X should you need to.

~ Travel insurance – don’t forget to sort this; I’m not an expert in it but you can shop around a little and can also look at getting cover which lasts over a certain period which can then cover the further games. I’ve paid around £21 for cover that lasts me an entire year.

~ Graz was perhaps a little milder than anticipated and I didn’t find Utrecht too bad either, but both did get pretty cold in the evening. At the time of writing, there is a little bit of snow forecast in Braga on Tuesday, followed by rain on Wednesday with a drier day on Thursday. Temperatures are around 10-13° on average currently but it will likely be cooler in the evening.

Getting to Braga

I believe there are again an assortment of routes fans are taking to reach Braga, but the key journey for many I think will be via Porto.

First step is to get from the airport into Porto (around 10k); I gather there are a few train stations but it appears that Porto Campanhã will be the main option for services to Braga. There is São Bento station too which I believe also has services to Braga.

The main route is to use the metro service which run into Porto and to Campanhã station and takes around 30-35 minutes. I believe it is the ‘E Line’ that runs to the station but just check before you travel. I have also read that there is a similar stop called Campainha so don’t get confused! Of course, there will be buses and taxis from the airport too. A taxi will be around 30-35 Euros for a standard size, I believe.

For the journey by train to Braga, I’ve used Combois de Portugal (www.cp.pt) to look at trains but suspect there are alternatives to explore if needed. There are plenty of services from Porto Campanhã which range from around 50 minutes in length to 1hr 10mins, although in certain hours there is only one service an hour and in others there are multiple trains. A single fare is €3.60 which is incredibly good value, especially compared to the fares in the UK.

I’ve listed a number of services from Porto Campanhã to Braga across matchday:

10:50 – arrive 11:58

11:50 – arrive 12:58

12:20 – arrive 13:11

12:45 – arrive 13:27

12:50 – arrive 13:58

13:50 – arrive 14:58

14:45 – arrive 15:58

15:50 – arrive 16:58

16:20 – arrive 17:11

After the game, for those heading straight back to Porto, there are two trains:

22:37 – arrive 23:44 (this could be in jeopardy if they hold us back as planned)

23:30 – arrive 00:30

The main alternative route would be coming from Lisbon but trains take over 4hrs, so do plan accordingly to arrive in good time.

Collecting Match Tickets

Ticket collection will be at the Basic Hotel next to Braga Station. Collections are available from 2-9pm on the Wednesday and 9-5pm on the Thursday (matchday).

You will need your passport in order to collect your tickets. A form of I.D will also be needed at the turnstiles, although this only needs to be a photo I.D and not necessarily a passport.

The collection points in Seville, Graz and Utrecht were extremely well organised with friendly and helpful staff, and I’m sure it will be the same again in Braga.

 

The Estádio Municipal de Braga – About the Stadium and How to Get There

Built in 2003 ahead of Portugal hosting the 2004 European Championships, the stadium is also referred to as ‘The Quarry’ due it being carved into hills of Braga. A 2023 article in The Athletic referred to it as a ‘stadium that seems to defy logic’. It continues: ‘A stand with its foundations built into a rock; a giant scoreboard perched on a granite embankment behind one goal; and nothing but empty space behind the other, offering a panoramic of the city below.’ The article, ‘How they carved SC Braga’s stadium into a granite hillside’ is well worth a read if you have a subscription.

The stadium consists of just two stands; the 1,600 Forest fans are situated in the upper tier of the West Stand. I know Forest tried numerous times to persuade Braga to provide more tickets but were unable to do so.

The stadium is 1.3miles north from Braga station and a little bit further from the main town. There is not, as far as I am aware, any reliable public transport aside from some bus routes so the likely options are arrange taxis early enough or make the 25-minute walk.

I have been advised that similar to what happened in Seville, the local police may start to encourage fans towards the stadium at some point (hopefully not too early!) and may loosely walk with supporters on their way.

There are a lot of steps to reach the stadium and so save a little bit of energy after what might well be a busy old day of drinking and merriment.

As we are now accustomed to, expect netting in front of the away end and some dividing barriers which may have some small impact on views, although this should be reduced by how high up we are compared to Graz and Utrecht.

Forest fans should expect to be held inside the away section for around 30 minutes after the game. There will, however, be no escort and Forest fans will be free to head back to Braga.

PUBS & BARS

There is no designated venue or area for Forest supporters to congregate but Praça da República (Republic Square) is the main area visiting traditionally fans gravitate to. Specifically Café Vianna, at one end of Jardim de Avenida Central, looks like a big place which will be ideal, and plenty of balcony space to fix flags. Plus there is another similar bar next door. This was the main gathering point for Wolves fans in 2019.

There are plenty of other options around here too and I suggest a wander around the centre of Braga will offer up plenty of cracking venues.

Another open area not too far away is Praça Conde de Agrolongo. In this area, Nova Bar appears to be one of the main spots. Being towards the north side of the city centre, this has the advantage of being a little closer to the stadium if you want to cut down your walk.

I’ll also throw in Letraria Craft Beer Library as a bit of an alternative option and not in either of these two areas, although this does not open until 5pm.

I have also enquired about suitable venues for fans without tickets to watch the game in Braga, but hopefully fans will be able to find suitable spots across town. I did stumble across a place Alma do Raio near the aforementioned Republic Square which appears to have a large screen (no guarantee it’s still there) and looks a good shout; potentially a stop for after the game for those with tickets as it doesn’t open until 6:30pm.

 

I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable trip. A note of thanks to PC Simon Travell at Nottinghamshire Police who provided the photos used within the guide, and who has again tried to answer my numerous queries!

We’ll see you out there.

You Reds

Matt