If there ever was a place and an event for the Ice Cream Man crew to be at and sling some cream, the Homeless World Cup of soccer in Melbourne, Australia was that event. The tournament took place during the 1st and 7th of December in the Australian city with over 56 nations competing in the mens competition and first ever all women’s team comp.
It all started in 2003 when it was first held in Graz, Austria where 17 national teams took part. Last year over 500 participants took part and this year the numbers were even higher. Melbournes Federation Square was transformed into a street soccer stadium with the stands filled with spectators watching some great soccer that was put on all day, every day during the week. It also featured one of the world’s best refs, Danish Kim Milton Nielsen who is best know for red carding David Beckham during the 1998 FIFA World Cup, along with great soccer and great displays of team spirit between all the different nationalities. I have to say, seeing all these people come from all around the world and some hard situations that I myself can’t even imagine being in was just inspiring and it was hard to not see the impact the tournament was having on people’s lives, just have a look at the statistics and facts on how the tournament has changed peoples lives.
The impact is consistently significant year on year with 73% of players changing their lives for the better by coming off drugs and alcohol, moving into jobs, education, homes, training, reuniting with families and even going on to become players and coaches for pro or semi-pro football teams.
For all this year’s results and more info on the Homeless World Cup and how it’s played go to the Cups website: www.homelessworldcup.org
