April 6, 2006

By PETER JOHN MEIKLEM
Street News Service

The Homeless World Cup – the offspring of social change and revolutionary football – is set for its biggest and best incarnation yet.

On a sizzling September afternoon in Cape Town, in the same square that Nelson Mandela made his first speech after coming out of prison, the best homeless players from 48 different nations will kick off the world’s only alternative festival of football.

Now in its fourth year, the 2006 HWC will move on from last year’s event in Edinburgh’s Princes Street Gardens to burst out of Europe for the first time and land with a crash, bang, wallop in South Africa from September 24 to September 30 — the home for the full Fifa tournament in 2010. Thousands of homeless players are already gearing up, practicing their ball skills and keeping their fingers crossed in the hope they will get to pull on a national team jersey.

HWC organizer Mel Young feels the tournament, which started in 2003 with only 18 teams, is coming of age and entering a new phase — and what better place on earth for that than Africa. Branded a scar on the conscience of the world by many, in Cape Town 2006 the HWC will take one small step towards healing and sportsmanship, all in the name of fun and raising awareness.

The selection process for the Scotland team — which is accustomed to beating the biggest names and have finished amongst the top teams in the last three tournaments in Scotland, Sweden and Austria — is already under way. Tournaments will be held in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Forth Valley, Tayside, Borders, Inverness and Aberdeen over the coming months to pick the eight players who will represent their country.

Hindered by visa problems, last year’s HWC ended up going through a location shift from New York to Edinburgh. And even then, red tape and bureaucratic wrong-headedness kept several African teams from joining the party. They were refused entry to the UK at the last minute for having insufficient funds for their stay. This year, vows Young, will be different.

“ We’ve always had a few African teams, but not as many as we’d like, so we’re keen to get the tournament out of Europe this year,” says Young. “It will just be a carnival atmosphere built around a festival of football.” There may even be, he hints in a cheeky Big Issue exclusive, live TV coverage and some major personalities attending to add to the multimedia extravaganza.

Some of the world’s biggest football superstars have come out to show their support. Rio Ferdinand, the controversial Manchester United and England defender, said: “This is a sport that can help people from all backgrounds get a better place in life. For me, football bridges the gap between different communities and ethnic backgrounds.” His boss, dour Scot Sir Alex Ferguson adds: “Football is a great tool for changing people’s lives and the HWC is a great way of doing that.”

James Garner, editor of Big Issue South Africa, is thrilled at representing the tournament as the host street paper. “Having been at the previous three Homeless World Cups I know how valuable the experience can be to players,” he says, speaking from Cape Town, where the magazine is based. “The opportunity to participate in a high-profile international competition gives players a huge boost in confidence and allows them to interact with other players from all over the world.

“ Our vendors face a daily battle against public apathy, and the chance to be cheered on and treated like football stars is of enormous value. Seeing them signing autographs and playing in front of large crowds has made me realize what a positive impact the Homeless World Cup can have.”

Cape Town 2006 will see a much greater involvement of female players. Some teams in the past, including the U.S. and Portugal, have brought women players on board, but other teams have been less forward-thinking. To sort it out, the HWC organizers put out a call for mixed teams, with a special cup to be won by the best of the mixed-gender bunch.

Scottish coordinator Jim Brown has decreed that the Scottish squad of eight players must contain two female players at bare minimum. “A sizeable number of homeless people are women so it wouldn’t be right to exclude them,” he says.

Striker Pauline Hamill, who has played 87 games for Scotland, thinks it’s a great call: “I’d encourage as many people as able to turn up to the trials and give it a go. The girls will compete with the guys and show there are very good reasons that they will be included.”

The boss of Scotland’s women’s football league, Maureen McGonigle, couldn’t agree more: “It’s forward thinking and it’s great that it highlights the fact women are part and parcel of the football community.”

The HWC also brings down barriers of nationality, as demonstrated by goalkeeper Jamie Shearer. He played through last year’s selection process but narrowly missed out on a spot in the 2005 Scotland squad. Instead, he ended up playing with the Russian team.

Meeting his Russian teammates was an experience he will never forget. “I felt embarrassed. This sounds crazy but one of the boys asked me about my problems and I was like, I dunno, I felt humbled. I got close to a lot of the Russians and I found out 5,000 a year over there die of the cold. And that’s just in St. Petersburg.”

Shearer says he was using drugs before the tournament, but as soon as the training kicked in his habit became a thing of the past: “I didn’t want to let my team down. I was getting a better buzz out of playing football than the drugs were giving me.”

Shearer says the HWC is the best buzz on offer, and with trials held all over Scotland, everybody who can should give it a try.

“ The lift you get is amazing. It’s an achievement to fight to get into the team and to get near playing for your country. You learn people in the West are quite lucky compared to many others. We’re the lucky ones because of where we are born.” n

Reprinted with permission from The Big Issue in Scotland, April 4. © Street News Service.

[More info]

The Homeless World Cup 2006 runs from September 24-30 in Cape Town, South Africa. Find out more

USA player Margaret Lindsay embraces a fan after the U.S. vs. France game in the 2005 tournament. Team captains report that since the tournament, none of the players have returned to homelessness. Photo ©streetsoccer.org.