Monday
Aug062007
Homeless soccer scores big
Monday, August 6, 2007 at 3:00AM
By Ellen Ratner
I just got off the plane after attending a weekend wedding near Copenhagen, Denmark. The weather was beautiful, and there were tons of tourists. Right outside of my hotel were huge crowds attending the fifth annual Homeless World Cup. There were 500 athletes from more than 48 countries in attendance. Companies including Nike were sponsors, and there was help from the Danish government. The Crown Prince was scheduled to attend the final game, and the latest news reports had Scotland winning.
The games began in 2003 after a conference of the International Network of Street Papers. Two men, Harald Schmied of Austria and Mel Young of Scotland, were looking to unite homeless people around the world and settled on street soccer. Eighteen countries participated in the first games. It had become such a success that by the 2005 games, more than 50,000 spectators came with 27 nations represented. The games were supposed to take place in the United States in 2005, but because of Visa issues it became an impossible.
The games are not just a once-a-year event. There are practices and competitions held all over the world. Local communities in the U.S. have become involved, and it is a way to bring focus, as well as services, to the homeless all over the country. According to the Homeless World Cup website, research conducted one year after the 2005 Edinburgh World Cup (4 percent of the players went away with a new motivation for life, and 77 percent said it changed their lives forever. This was repeated after last year where 73 percent experienced what they reported to be a permanent life change.
Reporting a life change is one thing, but making measurable changes is another. Homeless World Cup has proven that these changes can be measured. Out of the approximately 500 players from the 2006 games, 35 percent have secured regular employment, 44 percent have improved their housing situation, 39 percent chose to pursue education, 93 percent have successfully addressed their addiction issues (not all homeless soccer players have addiction issues) and 72 percent continue to play football. Fifty thousand homeless people from across the globe participate in the tryouts for their teams.
The homeless problem in the U.S. is a confluence of many problems, including drug addiction and mental illness. Much of it is from bad luck, lousy health and a lack of opportunity. Many homeless people hold full time jobs and work hard to maintain their families. There isn't much pride or sense of self worth when you are homeless. The World Homeless Cup is the first international recognition to the problem of homelessness and to creating a world community to address the problem found in every country of the world.
I couldn't help but wonder though what would have happened if the United States had granted the visas in 2005. Would it have been covered as a serious sporting event? Would it have made it to the front pages of the newspapers like it did in Denmark? Would 50,000 Americans come to watch the tournaments? Would any governors come to open the game? Would George Bush or Laura Bush attend? I am afraid I know the answers to the above questions. No, No, No, No and No. Sadly, we are a country that has left the homeless without any real programs to bring these citizens back into our communities. If President Bush can promote T-Ball on the White House lawn, then he certainly can promote homeless soccer. That would be a much needed signal from a deeply religious president about caring for "the least of these".
I just got off the plane after attending a weekend wedding near Copenhagen, Denmark. The weather was beautiful, and there were tons of tourists. Right outside of my hotel were huge crowds attending the fifth annual Homeless World Cup. There were 500 athletes from more than 48 countries in attendance. Companies including Nike were sponsors, and there was help from the Danish government. The Crown Prince was scheduled to attend the final game, and the latest news reports had Scotland winning.
The games began in 2003 after a conference of the International Network of Street Papers. Two men, Harald Schmied of Austria and Mel Young of Scotland, were looking to unite homeless people around the world and settled on street soccer. Eighteen countries participated in the first games. It had become such a success that by the 2005 games, more than 50,000 spectators came with 27 nations represented. The games were supposed to take place in the United States in 2005, but because of Visa issues it became an impossible.
The games are not just a once-a-year event. There are practices and competitions held all over the world. Local communities in the U.S. have become involved, and it is a way to bring focus, as well as services, to the homeless all over the country. According to the Homeless World Cup website, research conducted one year after the 2005 Edinburgh World Cup (4 percent of the players went away with a new motivation for life, and 77 percent said it changed their lives forever. This was repeated after last year where 73 percent experienced what they reported to be a permanent life change.
Reporting a life change is one thing, but making measurable changes is another. Homeless World Cup has proven that these changes can be measured. Out of the approximately 500 players from the 2006 games, 35 percent have secured regular employment, 44 percent have improved their housing situation, 39 percent chose to pursue education, 93 percent have successfully addressed their addiction issues (not all homeless soccer players have addiction issues) and 72 percent continue to play football. Fifty thousand homeless people from across the globe participate in the tryouts for their teams.
The homeless problem in the U.S. is a confluence of many problems, including drug addiction and mental illness. Much of it is from bad luck, lousy health and a lack of opportunity. Many homeless people hold full time jobs and work hard to maintain their families. There isn't much pride or sense of self worth when you are homeless. The World Homeless Cup is the first international recognition to the problem of homelessness and to creating a world community to address the problem found in every country of the world.
I couldn't help but wonder though what would have happened if the United States had granted the visas in 2005. Would it have been covered as a serious sporting event? Would it have made it to the front pages of the newspapers like it did in Denmark? Would 50,000 Americans come to watch the tournaments? Would any governors come to open the game? Would George Bush or Laura Bush attend? I am afraid I know the answers to the above questions. No, No, No, No and No. Sadly, we are a country that has left the homeless without any real programs to bring these citizens back into our communities. If President Bush can promote T-Ball on the White House lawn, then he certainly can promote homeless soccer. That would be a much needed signal from a deeply religious president about caring for "the least of these".
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