Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General
on Sport for Development and Peace

“Milan 2009 Homeless World Cup”


The United Nations considers sport as a powerful tool to promote education, health, development and peace. Sport unites people of all social classes, cultures and religions in a positive and educational way.

As the Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace, it is with great pleasure that I offer my support to the “Milan 2009 Homeless World Cup”, a football initiative which has been uniting teams of homeless people to take a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent their country and change their lives forever.

The Homeless World Cup initiative is an extraordinary example of the application of sport as a tool for community development. The Homeless World Cup has triggered the establishment of over 50 local grass roots projects working with people who are homeless and excluded from society.

The impact of the Homeless World Cup has been consistently significant with a large majority of players changing their lives for the better, by coming off drugs and alcohol, moving into jobs, education, homes, training, reuniting with families and some even going on to become players and coaches for professional or semi-professional football teams.


Considering the increase in the number of participating teams from 18 national teams in the year 2003 to 48 national teams for the current event in Milan, the Homeless World Cup is well on the way to realizing its vision - a healthy, abundant, confident world where everyone has a home, a basic human right.
The initiative has been a very successful means to raise awareness of issue surrounding the homeless and to improve the image of homeless people amongst the general public. The positive impact that this project has been able to have on individuals from more than 70 countries makes it an initiative that deserves any additional support it can obtain.


I look forward to a continued collaboration with the Homeless World Cup initiative and wish all participants the very best in this life-changing experience!

Pictures:

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• UNlogo.jpg (JPG)

All I know is about gangsterism. That, you can tell me nothing about because I know that and I've learned it...I have earned it. But I don't want to be a gangster anymore. I want to be a normal person. How can I not go overseas and earn more experience? That's what I want to do. To go and explore and bring good news out of South Africa and to another place....

Martin Afrika, 2008

At just five years old, Martin Afrika ran to the streets, hoping that street life would be better than life at home. As he tells it, he left his house in the township and ran and ran and ran until he arrived in Cape Town. As he grew, Martin became a member of one of South Africa’s notorious number gangs and gained rank throughout his life. After the age of five, he spent twenty-one years on the street and six in jail. Martin is now thirty-two years old.

In 2008, Martin entered the trials for South Africa’s Homeless World Cup team. He carried himself so confidently on and off the pitch that he not only made the team but was also named captain. He moved off the streets into a group home and immediately stopped using drugs, sharing his story of hope with anyone who would listen. Incredibly charming and charismatic, it is easy to get to know Martin. Stories roll of his tongue with ease and he seems to keep no secrets.

The community leaders and coaches around him were shocked, declaring they’d never seen such a swift and extreme recovery story before. Martin attributed his transformation to the hope he gained through preparing for the Homeless World Cup.

But things weren’t easy for Martin. His family was dead. The school he attended as a child had burnt down and the hospital he was born in had the same date on two different years listed as his birthday. With no record or proof of his identity, Martin couldn’t get a valid passport and visa in time to travel overseas and was unable to participate in the 2008 Homeless World Cup with his team.

Almost a year later, Martin admitted that losing that opportunity was one of the most painful experiences of his life. He relapsed for several weeks, disappearing onto the streets, using drugs again. Yet despite all of this, Martin persevered. He moved back into his group home in order to try out again for South Africa’s 2009 Homeless World Cup team and again has made the cut. After spending years trying to make an identity for himself, he obtained an ID and passport and is counting down the days until his arrival in Milan, where he will represent South Africa.

Amid the ups and downs of this last year, Martin shared, “The thing is, I don’t give up hope. Hope is the most important thing in life. If you give up hope, it means, you might as well die.”

Armed with ID papers and hope, Martin is ready to fully experience this new season of life.

Pictures:

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During a visit to Chile and Brazil we caught up with players from previous Homeless World Cup tournament's who continue to inspire as they lead their lives with true courage, spirit and glory.
Miguel, Chile
Miguel, 32, played for Chile at the Cape Town 2006 Homeless World Cup. He lived on the streets for 8 years, in the doorways of banks or hospitals, and was also addicted to drugs for 8 years. Today he is a natural leader, proud to show me round Nuestra Casa (Our House), a project that runs the football programme in Chile to select the national team. Miguel is no longer on drugs. He has a job and for the first time in his life he rents his own home. Last year he got married and he will be a Dad in September. Miguel says: "This is what is brilliant about the Homeless World Cup and the Street Football Project in Chile. Now I have all this. I have a life."
Miguel is a monitor in one of the tougher parts of Santiago where he is well known and well liked. This means he invites the young kids and adults from this area hooked on drugs to come along to the football. Now players from previous Homeless World Cups are all becoming monitors in different parts of Chile and the impact continues on - lasting and significant.
We went along to Miguel's new home with a film crew from Chile's main television news programme. He shared his story and invited the nation to get involved: "This is real life, not reality TV. Support the national team from Chile. Football is powerful. It changes lives."
Eduardo, Brazil
Eduardo, 28, played for Brazil in the Gothenburg 2004 and Cape Town 2006 Homeless World Cup. Eduardo is from one of the 1000 Favelas that run across Rio. Here his life was taking and selling drugs to make around $250 a week (the minimum wage here is $250 a month).
Then he started with OCAS and began selling the street paper where he was invited to participate in the football programme.
Today he is presenting his story to 50 homeless men in Rio, themselves going through a drug rehabilitation programme. Eduardo shared: "I didn't believe it when Luciano (President, Ocas) told me I would represent Brazil in Gothenburg. And then a passport arrived for me and I started to believe it." And then there he was! The Goalkeeper, representing Brazil, away in another country.
Eduardo no longer takes drugs of course. He is a super alive and shining person who is really fun to be with. He now has his own home a whole world away in the safe southern neighbourhood of Rio. He lives here with his girlfriend and their 10 month old son. He is a waiter and a plumber. He still plays football sometimes but mostly loves to swim at the beach and surf, where he is called the alligator because he surfs the waves without a board.

Links:

• http://www.globalgiving.com/pr/2000/proj1973a.html
• http://homelessworldcup.org

Pictures:

• Miguel_Chile.jpg (JPG)
• Eduardo_Brazil.jpg (JPG)

The 2008 Homeless World Cup in Melbourne, Australia just ended. My mind is racing as I try to cling to the images, the sounds and the conversations that took place over the course of the past seven days. I am going to need days to fully absorb and process what I just experienced as assistant coach of the Paraguayan Women’s Soccer Team at the first Women’s Homeless World Cup.

My experiences playing professional soccer in Brazil and Sweden, and now working in the field of international development at the Nike Foundation have helped me recognize sport as one of the most powerful tools for positive social change and empowerment. I have witnessed the power of soccer to teach life skills, challenge gender norms, redefine machismo and create a shared sense of belonging. My understanding of the ability of the world’s most popular sport to turn around lives and bring the socially excluded out of isolation was brought to whole new level this week at the Homeless World Cup. This was one of the most uplifting and unifying events that I have ever experienced.

The coming together of nations, cultures, languages, and colors was only half of it. It was even more amazing to see people from every corner of the world step onto the field, representing their country after overcoming so many barriers. “Homelessness” meant much more than “houselessness.” Here, ‘homelessness’ extended to the broader notion of social isolation, of not feeling supported by society. Players came from developed and developing countries: some living in shelters and recovering from substance abuse, others orphaned by AIDS or living in refugee camps, others with families but with inadequate access to safe housing on an ongoing basis, others denied mobility through cultural pressures, and still others living in extreme poverty. But at the Cup, people’s backgrounds, histories, and socio-economic status became insignificant; our differences were dissolved by our love for soccer and willingness to share the moment. The uniforms played a large role in putting us all on equal footing; only the occasional tattoo or scar peeking out from behind the outfit reminded everyone of tougher times. Watching players embrace after games and communicate through body language and laughter reminded me of how much we all have in common and of our eagerness to relate to one another.

I coached the girls from one of our partners, Fundacion Paraguaya. I worked to lead the girls, serve as a role model, and help them improve their game and mindset towards the sport. We lost our first four matches in a row and while we all recognized the greater purpose of the Cup and the unimportance of the score, it was still extremely difficult to lose game after game—by significant margins. Losing continuously is never easy for anyone, and especially so for people who come from vulnerable backgrounds and who have often felt like failures. I attempted to boost the girls’ morale through pep talks, words of encouragement and reminders of the bigger experience, but their spirits were low. It was not until we notched our first victory against Australia that the girls snapped back to their joyous selves, the ones who had marched with pride in the opening-day parade. Noelia, our goalkeeper leapt into the air, threw off her gloves and tackled me with the biggest hug imaginable.

It was not the victory alone that rejuvenated my girls though; it was the win in combination with our opponents’ sportsmanship in the face of defeat that lifted our spirits. When the final whistle blew, the Australian girls ran over to our team, bombarded us with hugs, then grabbed our hands and we spun around in a circle, cheering, smiling, laughing and crying, all as one. Our team quickly realized that the win felt great but what felt even better was seeing our opponent show so much character in rejoicing with us. This one moment changed our attitude and outlook for the rest of the Cup—from then on, win or lose, we would join in a circle with the opposing team and celebrate the sport, the friendships, and the moment together.

I not only saw my girls’ perspectives change and grow over the course of the week, but also felt my own views change through a deeper understanding of sport’s ability to bring people together and to create hope. Together we created hope in individuals’ lives for happiness and brighter futures, hope for a sense of belonging, hope that people could care, hope that communities will be strengthened to support those in need and prevent others from falling, and hope that people will let go of their fears and open their minds and their hearts. This was not the Homeless World Cup, it was the Hope World Cup.

by Caitlin Fisher

Pictures:

• HWCParaguayWomensTeamgoal.jpg (JPG)

Research conducted during the Melbourne 2008 Homeless World Cup has shown that two-thirds of event spectators surveyed have changed their perspective of homeless people.

Over 300 fast and furious street soccer matches were played at Federation Square and Birrarung Marr from 1st - 7th December, showcasing the skill and passion of over 500 homeless and marginalised players from around the world.

Melbourne has embraced the event, with packed grandstands cheering, chanting and stomping their appreciation of the players and their sportsmanship.

Spectators feedback proves that sport has the power to change the world,

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82 per cent of spectators surveyed during the Melbourne event agreed that the Homeless World Cup contributes to a sense of community well-being.
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82 per cent also agreed that the Homeless World Cup breaks down stereotypes about the homeless community.
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85 per cent strongly agree that the Homeless World Cup is a fun and entertaining event.

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Three-quarters of spectators agreed that the Homeless World Cup is an event that gives them an opportunity to show other people how special their community (Melbourne) is.

“It has put a face of humanity on the issue,” said one spectator. “Homeless people aren’t just people to be ignored. They have something to offer the community as much as anyone”.

Another spectator said: “This event has helped humanise the problem and reminded me it affects all ages and races.”


The Benefits of Community Street Soccer programs.

Researcher Dr Emma Sherry from Deakin University, Victoria, has also been conducting research with The Big Issue’s Street Soccer Program since 2006 and in 2008 she has interviewed over 90 participants from nine Street Soccer Program sites around Australia.

“The Big Issue Street Soccer Program assists many individuals, much more than just the eight players in the Homeless World Cup team,” Dr Sherry said.

“It provides them with connection back into the community, physical activity and links into support services.

“One out of five of the participants noted that their team members have become their family.

A legacy of the Melbourne 2008 Homeless World Cup will be the continued roll-out of 30 Street Soccer Program across Australia by The Big Issue, providing weekly soccer training sessions and support for homeless and marginalized people.

The Homeless World Cup has triggered and supports grass-roots football programs in over 60 nations engaging 30,000 homeless players every year.

irish playerThe Impact of the Homeless World Cup.

“The Homeless World Cup as an event assists in giving participants a goal but more importantly, it raises awareness of the issue of homelessness.”

Player research conducted by the Homeless World Cup international body consistently demonstrates that over 70 per cent of players experience a significant life change. They come off drugs and alcohol, move into homes, jobs, education and training, repair relationships and even become coaches and players.

By Fiona Crawford


ZAMBIA is glad they won the inaugural Homeless World Cup tournament, for it believes that the women’s teams in future years will be even more talented, hungrier, and fiercer than this year.

Declaring the competition “tough but good”, Merinda Namafe joked that she’d be “frightened” to come back next year once the next group of women have more training and a better understanding of the competition.

In fact, she hopes that the team’s win will inspire more Zambian girls to take up football and perhaps defend the title at the 2009 Homeless World Cup in Milan.

“We are very, very happy to have won,” she said immediately after Zambia defeated an injury-ravaged Liberia 7-1 in the final.

But while the win was welcome, Namafe and her teammates agree that the best part of the tournament has been meeting people. It was clear during the week that this was important to them, as the Zambians proudly wore Socceroos jerseys and mixed with players from other countries during a women’s training clinic run by former Australian Youth International Bess Hepworth.

Hepworth was impressed both with the Zambian women’s level of skill and their willingness to participate, calling them out to demonstrate drills for the rest of the group. She drew chuckles from the participants and spectators as she explained that although she knew that the Zambian girls were skilful, for the sake of the exercise she needed them to “pretend” not to be and to “make her look good” by allowing her to beat them.

It’s quite possible that the Zambians will take back the game of paper, scissors, rock that Bess taught them back to their country.

Pictures:

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By Finn Bradshaw

THE sounds of 'A-F-G, A-F-G" echoed around Federation Square as Afghanistan and its supporters celebrated victory in the 2008 Homeless World Cup.

The Afghans took the final 5-4 over Russia in a match which kept the packed stadium on the edge of its seats until the final whistle.

Deserving winners - Afghanistan was undefeated all week and also beat Russia in the group stage - the central Asians took the tournament by storm both with their inspired play and their devoted legion of fans, which turned every match into a party.

Prior to the Afghanistan-Russia match, Zambia took out the inaugural Women's World Cup over a severely depleted Liberia, 7-1. The Africans, who dominated their competition all week, have set the benchmark for other female teams to aim at next year.

Homeless World Cup co-founder Mel Young said Melbourne had set a new standard for the tournament, both in terms of organisation and its effect on the city.

The latter was evident throughout the week as the stands filled with cheering fans each day, whether to celebrate dramatic shootouts between Scotland and England, or the multiple attempted scissor kicks from Belgium's crowd favourite Nourdine Benaissa.

Possibly the match of the tournament prior to the final was a tense, tough affair between traditional rivals Portugal and Brazil, won 2-1 by the South Americans. The tackling in that game was as hard as you’d see in a FIFA World Cup battle between the two nations.

One of the features of the tournament was how closely the teams followed their national team's characteristics, from Brazil's technical excellence to Nigeria's flair or England's inability to win a penalty shoot-out.

But there the Homeless World Cup diverts from professional events. The joy on the players faces from first kick-off to final whistle was testament to this tournament's ability to change lives, and its effect on the spectators.

In no other sporting event will you leave the stadium and come across the players dancing in a circle with their fans. That was a regular sight along Birrarung Marr for the past week.

After the final, on the footpath behind Federation Square stadium, the Afghan players joined their adoring fans for a wild, joyous dance, while next to them Zambia stood in a circle with their Australian chaperones singing traditional African folk songs in sweet, strong voices.

Next year, the tournament heads to Milan, Italy. You’d say the Italians have a lot to live up to, but when an event is such a strong, boisterous celebration of human nature - however trite that might sound - the organising committee has nothing to worry about.

Pictures:

• Afghanistan Fans and Players carry the Homeless World Cup along (JPG)
• Holding the Cup in Celebration (JPG)

This Saturday, Kicking It, the documentary about the story of the Homeless World Cup, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. Narrated by Colin Farrell, the film chronicles the lives of seven players taking a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent their country at the Cape Town 2006 Homeless World Cup. Najib from war torn Afghanistan; Alex from the slums of Kenya; Damien and Simon from the drug rehab clinics of Dublin, Ireland; Craig from the streets of Charlotte, North Carolina; Jesus from the overflowing public shelters of Madrid, Spain, and Slavan from the shadow culture of the illegal rural immigrants to the big city of St. Petersburg, Russia.

Colin Farrell was up for a chat about his thoughts on the film, homelessness and football. Warm, disarmingly open and honest, with a sincere heart and genuine concern for the players and the global issue of homelessness and an appreciation for the work of the Homeless World Cup. Here's is what he had to say in the article here:

Attachments:

• Colin Farrell narrates on Kicking It (PDF)