World Cup fever is on my door step. I’ve been sick with anticipation for the past four years. The 32 national teams have been selected, new stadiums have been built and tickets have been distributed. The FIFA World Cup will take place in South Africa June 11 through July 11 and over 2 billion viewers will be watching. Most of my friends have already cordoned off their favorite couch spots and bar stools in preparation for the opening kickoff.
While the general public is getting fired up for this tournament, there is a lesser known, but just as important World Cup — The Homeless World Cup — taking place in Rio de Janeiro this year as well.
There are over one billion homeless people living in our world today. A home is a basic human need and The Homeless World Cup exists to help curb this problem.
The Homeless World Cup is an annual international soccer tournament, uniting teams of people who are homeless and excluded, to enjoy a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent their country and transform their lives. The impact is significant: two thirds of players at the Homeless World Cup experience change. With courage and determination, participants come off drugs and alcohol, repair relationships with family and friends and tackle poverty to find homes, jobs, training and education.
The first tournament united 18 national teams in Graz, Austria in 2003. Seven years later, they are on the road to Rio 2010, where 64 nations are expected to participate. The project has triggered and continues to support grassroots football projects around the globe — over 70 nations work with 30,000 homeless and marginalized individuals throughout the year.
Back in 2005, Stephanie joined Team USA after outstaying her welcome at the Salvation Army Women’s Shelter and was camping out in an abandoned building. At 45-years-old Stephanie was not only the oldest player on the team, but also one of just three women. Today, there are separate Women’s Homeless World Cup teams.
Despite never having played soccer, she learned quickly and soon began teaching technique to new team members. She says, “For the first time in a long time, I felt important. Having been a part of that gave me the confidence to face people again, to face the world.”
Upon returning from the event, Stephanie was accepted into a transitional housing program. She started working full-time and, most importantly, she got back in touch with her only son in Baltimore. “The soccer team really opened my eyes to the world around me, that I wasn’t the only homeless person and that I was truly afraid of responsibility. Now I want to give back, and hopefully I can stay involved with homeless soccer in some way.”
Lawrence Cann, the Director of Street Soccer USA, the organization that runs the 16-city soccer league to get homeless men, women and youth off the streets is also responsible for choosing the team that will represent the USA in the Homeless World Cup. He spoke to Tonic about the importance of soccer for social change.
“I don’t want to say that the World Cup seems trivial in comparison, because that would sound ridiculous, but when you get involved in the street soccer movement and you see people whom everyone has given up on, rise up to defy the odds and exhibit the best in human spirit, you feel that by just cheering and being there you played small part in their redemption.” His star player Daniel McLaughlin from N.Y.C. agrees: “Street Soccer builds us and builds us and builds us to the point where you reach up to the sky and grab a star.”
So, let’s get ready for two epic soccer events this year and root for the US to win both the FIFA World Cup in South Africa and the Homeless World Cup in Rio.
Photos 1 and 3 by Jason Gould, photo 2 by Richard Sharman / Photoworx.