The Homeless World Cup is an international football tournament. It’s unique in that it exists to be a catalyst for lasting change, creating maximum social impact for the players involved – socially excluded homeless people and people living in poverty. This is accomplished through the worldwide development of street soccer, firstly by creating a top quality, well-recognized annual Homeless World Cup flagship event and secondly, by continuous grass roots street soccer development programs around the world to ensure that many more people benefit. And it works. Statistics already show that 73% of the players involved significantly change their lives forever. The research also shows that 94% of the players went away with a new motivation for life. Primary factors contributing to this success include the feeling of belonging, the challenge of working in a team, the process of regaining a health-oriented attitude towards life, self esteem and last but not least the experience of healthy, pure fun.
48 countries are currently involved, many with multiple teams from different cities. 500 homeless players participated in the 2007 Homeless World Cup at Copenhagen. The run-up to the tournament involved over 25,000 homeless players in pre-tournament national trials and grass roots street soccer leagues. More than 100,000 fans attended the 2007 event. The Homeless World Cup has been supported by Nike and UEFA since it’s inception. In addition, several world-class football teams support Homeless World Cup teams - Manchester United, Real Madrid, and SL Benfica. Worldwide recognition has also come from UEFA with the 2005 Monaco Cheque. (Previous winners include the Special Olympics and Football against Racism.) Through enhanced collaboration and the resulting spin-off projects in the communities that the Homeless World Cup enters, a legacy will be created. This will not only enable participants to solidify the changes that their experience has inspired, but will also mean that the positive impact of the Homeless World Cup can encompass a far wider range of people and can help provide an integrated and stable environment for permanent change.
Future goals include:
- Funding new and innovative homeless projects that will enable individuals to better their lives through football.
- Providing legacy support to homeless projects, enabling individuals and participants to continue making a positive impact in their own communities.
- To use the success of the Homeless World Cup to promote sports in general, and football in particular as one of the instigators of change for the better in individuals lives.
