They came for the World Cup, but now they're trying to stay in Brazil, saying that religious conflicts in their country make it a danger to return.

BBC News reported that around 200 Ghanaians have requested asylum in Brazil after getting into the country on tourist visas to watch the Black Stars play in the World Cup.

Those seeking asylum claim that they are Muslims trying to escape religious conflicts in Ghana. The group has filed for asylum in Caxias do Sul, a well-to-do city in southern Brazil.

Ghana has asked Brazil not to grant asylum, saying that there is no religious conflict in the country, and the BBC's Ghana correspondent Sammy Darko said there is no recorded religious conflict in the country.

The Ghanaians who have requested asylum "faced life-threatening situations back home," said Vanessa Perini Moojen of the Roman Catholic Church's Migrant Support Center, where the Ghanaians have been staying.

"They feel they can find work and better living conditions in Brazil," she told The Associated Press.

The Brazilian government is under the impression that these asylum-seekers aren't escaping religious conflict but are looking for a way to legally work in the country.

"This region, Serra Gaucha, is known as an area of full employment. It has become a magnet for foreign workers," federal police chief Noerci da Silva Melo told BBC. "You go through the streets and you can see many Haitians and Senegalese selling pirate CDs and watches. The area is overcrowded now."

Authorities said they expect another 1,000 Ghanaians to request asylum once the World Cup is over on July 13. Brazilian law lets foreigners legally work in the country after they have requested asylum.

Joao Guilherme Granja, of the Brazilian Justice Ministry, told BBC that when considering the Ghanaians for asylum, the fact that they came into the country on tourist visas won't be taken into consideration.

"Asylum cannot be requested at a Brazilian embassy. The asylum-seeker must be in the country to apply," Guilherme Granja said. "We have hundreds of Syrian refugees in Brazil at the moment in the same situation."