The Homeless World Cup!

It all started in 2001 at the International Network of Street Papers Conference, held in Cape Town, South Africa. While looking for an international language that could unite homeless people across the world, Mel Young, cofounder of The Big Issue Scotland, and Harald Schmied, editor of the Austrian street paper, Megaphon, were struck by the unifying strength of the game of soccer. They were looking for something that created a bond, a universal language spoken by all, and couldn't find a better fit than soccer! And so, the Homeless World Cup was born. Mel and Harald made it happen in 18 months!

The first Homeless World Cup tournament took place in Graz, Austria, and was a phenomenal success. Not only did it have the kind of impact on the players that Mel and Harald had hoped for, it created a strong sense of unity and joy they'd never seen before. According to the Homeless World Cup rules, the players can either be male or female, but they need to be at least 16 years old at the time of the tournament. They should've been homeless at some point after last year's World Cup or made a living as street paper vendors or are asylum seekers, with neither positive asylum status nor work permit.

The year 2008 saw the Homeless World Cup tournament being played in Melbourne, Australia. Teams from 56 countries proudly wore their national soccer uniforms. For the time, eight female teams also competed for the Homeless Women's World Cup. Afghanistan won the men's title, giving Russia a 5-4 beating, while Zambia lifted the Homeless Women's World Cup trophy, defeating Liberia 7-1.

In 2009, the Homeless World Cup was held at Milan in Italy in the month of September. This time round, 500 players from 48 nations took the pitch in their national team uniforms. Ukraine delighted its fans by winning the tournament. A series of additional cups saw Chile as the proud winner of the Dignitary Cup and South Africa became the City Cup Winner.

With the countdown to the 2010 FIFA World Cup ticking, things are looking up for South African soccer. This is the first time in the history of street soccer that South Africa brought the Homeless World Cup trophy home. The South African team returned to a warm welcome at the Parliament, hosted by ID leader, Patricia de Lille. Vice Captain, Martin, believes the team's success on the pitch is important in revealing the team's worth to their homeland. According to him, "If people on the streets were given opportunities like this more often, no one would turn to drugs. I will never turn to drugs again." Martin, who lived on the streets for 22 years, turned his life around by joining the Homeless World Cup team. There's been no looking back for him ever since...

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