Tackling the Big Issues

The Homeless World Cup invites homeless, mentally ill, drug-affected, and asylum-seeking men and women from all countries to join in a week-long soccer tournament in the true definition of social sport; players don’t need the skills of Ronaldinho or the bend of Beckham, just the desire to come together and kick off poverty in a fun and healthy environment. Speaking at the 2002 Olympics, then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said: “Sport can play a role in improving the lives of individuals. Not only individuals, I might add, but whole communities. I am convinced that the time is right to build on that understanding, to encourage governments, development agencies and communities to think how sport can be included more systematically in the plans to help children, particularly those living in the midst of poverty, disease and conflict.” Apologies to all those rugby fans out there, but with around 240 million regular participants worldwide, soccer is indeed the world game, and the ideal sport to foster understanding, development, and peace between countries and cultures. Believe it or not cynics, but the Homeless World Cup has seen Afghanistan and the United States – among others – come together without insult or animosity, showing that no matter how deep their political divides may run, neither countries’ people have quarrel where soccer is concerned. On assignment last September to cover the Australian Homeless World Cup team (dubbed the Street Socceroos), my compatriots and I were joined by nearly 500 other players in Cape Town, each as curious as the next to meet new friends, explore a foreign yet captivating new city, and build the confidence and camaraderie to improve their social situations. And they’re just the tip of the iceberg, with around 25,000 people in their home countries taking part in local and national soccer welfare programs every week . As part of the event’s undreamed-of success, the Homeless World Cup Foundation aims to increase this to 100,000 participants across 60 countries by 2010. This may seem like wishful thinking, considering the tournament only began in 2003; yet the last few years have seen it grow exponentially, with the number of competing countries increasing from 27 to 48 since 2005, with 66 expected in 2009. Being the first time this event had been held outside Europe, Africa was also particularly well represented, with thirteen nations present in September, up from only two in the previous year. Although it is highly supportive of other poverty relief organisations, the Homeless World Cup finds itself in another field of aid work altogether. This type of event is just as effective a solution to alleviating poverty as the traditional food-medicine-and-debt relief that other organisations provide through more generous budgets; however the Cup aims to improve the more intangible aspects of human nature. Personal motivation, cultural understanding, and a sense of community are essential to creating confidence and trust within and between populations. It is these attributes that empower those affected by poverty with a greater sense of self and alleviate worries among them that hinder progress, thus spanning the void between the fundamentals of aid relief and their disaffected populations. Once accredited within the 250-member press pack, I was informed the Cup had been endorsed by Adolf Ogi, Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General, South African president Thabo Mbeki, football legends Rio Ferdinand, Eusebio, and Luis Figo, and the European Football Association. Walking through a Cape Town shopping mall, I craned my neck at eight ten-metre-high banners, each containing a picture of the host nation’s team members, with every player granted superstar status for several months leading into the event. Now, I’m not usually one to cry ad populum, yet such a level of interest can only indicate that the world is taking notice of its homeless. Corporations such as Nike and Vodafone have jumped on the sponsorship bandwagon, while talent scouts and representatives from football clubs including Manchester United, Paris St Germain, and South Africa’s own Kaiser Chiefs have taken an interest, intent on discovering the next superstars of international football whose success is only limited by their social situations. Although it is not a recent trend, scouting the developing world has seen professional footballers (such as Cameroon’s Samuel Eto'o, Côte d’Ivoire’s Didier Drogba, and Nigeria’s Nwankwo Kanu) launch highly successful international soccer careers. If the dozens of Cape Town youths kicking training balls behind the tournament’s grandstands or the host nation’s 80-player squad were any indication, there is definitely no shortage of soccer talent in Africa. Of nearly 50 competitors, seven of Africa’s thirteen countries received a top three placing in their group, while Cameroon, Kenya, Liberia, and Nigeria finished in the top ten overall—proving that Africa is indeed capable of scoring a few goals of its own. Yet the most important goals at this event are scored off field, as seen when talking to the 77% of participants who said their lives had changed significantly following the 2005 Homeless World Cup. A twelve-month Social Impact Study by the Homeless World Cup Foundation found that 94% of players have a new motivation for life, 38% have regular employment, 40% have improved their housing situation, and 68% of players addressing a drug or alcohol dependency succeeded. In addition, 28% of participants have opted to develop their education, and twelve players now make their living partly from football as coaches or players with professional and semi-professional teams. Yet statistics – no matter how favourable – only tell part of the story. From behind the camera lens, I saw the most timid players come out of their shells in spectacular fashion, smiles playing across their faces as international friendships flourished despite whatever language barriers hindered them, while a flurry of cross-cultural curiosity swept through Cape Town. Speaking to a couple of ‘streeties’ in a marketplace, I was told that, rather than stealing my camera and computer gear themselves, they were on the lookout for anyone who tried to mug me. They knew I was there to show the world what the homeless can do, and were grateful. Around half the teams at the Homeless World Cup were organised by The Big Issue magazine, another homelessness initiative started thirteen years ago in part by Cup founder Mel Young. England was the first to see this magazine sold exclusively by homeless vendors, who retain half the cover price as income. Since then, The Big Issue has grown to form the International Network of Street Papers (INSP) that runs 80 publications in 27 countries on the now-famous catchphrase: "a hand up, not a handout". Although it’s been regarded as ‘rookie of the year’ at the Homeless World Cup and has only two countries within the INSP, Africa’s involvement in these organisations is on the rise—Zimbabwe being a prime example. While in Cape Town, the Street Socceroos and I struck up a friendship with the Zimbabwean team members, each selected from a blossoming community soccer project in the nation’s capital, Harare. Project manager, Tawanda Karasa, told me each week around 500 locals in Harare’s Hatcliffe district participate in educational soccer programs that run on the premise that, "if you just bring a ball into a war-torn zone, you look at the children and there’ll be smiling faces". Although Zimbabwe is not officially recognised as a war zone, 28 years of rule under President Robert Mugabe has plunged the country’s economic and humanitarian standards below that of many post-war societies. The street soccer programs aim to unify communities within Harare, particularly the 323,385 residents left homeless by Mugabe’s Operation Murambatsvina in 2005 (also known as Operation Restore Order, or Operation Drive Out Trash). Although the government’s recent legislation changes prevent groups of 20 or more assembling in a public space without a government-approved agenda, the soccer program humours the authorities’ hawk-like gaze, allowing organisers to discuss sensitive topics such as HIV/AIDS, housing rights, drug abuse, and gender inequality in an amicable environment. In addition, Mr Karasa spoke of his plans to start up Zimbabwe’s own Big Issue magazine to assist its stagnant social and economic development—including its 80% unemployment rate. He explains how having a national magazine may work on several levels, increasing both social welfare and desperately needed media communication in what press freedom advocate Reporters sans Frontiers calls "one of most vicious countries on the [African] continent in its treatment of journalists ". The tournament’s final days saw guest speaker and anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu declare, “We’ve got to ensure that everybody has a home; it is a right, not a privilege ... People treat the homeless as if they're sub-human. In order to overcome this discrimination, we have to unite against homelessness as we did when we fought apartheid.” Hearing these words, it wasn’t hard to picture myself in yet another revolution of conscience, cheering the homeless towards the same basic rights as were denied the South African population until thirteen years ago. While one can’t live in or eat a soccer ball, this beautiful game brings people together regardless of race, ethnicity, culture, class or creed. As Tawanda says, "Everywhere you go, it seems as though everyone is playing soccer".

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Keywords homeless world cup street soccer south africa cape town big issue socceroo