First Australian Homeless Soccer Team Announced
This story is so inspirational, positive and ongoing that it deserves a revisit from Only Positive News.
There are over 1 billion homeless people existing on this planet. The Homeless World Cup was established to put an end to this prevalent problem and to also showcase the skills of people who are often too busy struggling to survive. If you think this is a small, grassroots effort, think again.
This event has taken the world by storm. The first tournament began in Graz in 2003 with 17 national teams. At the 5th Homeless World Cup in Copenhagen in the summer of this year, 48 nations, 500 players were brought together for a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent their country. Melbourne is the host city for the upcoming tournament from 1-7 December 2008.
In preparation, a new Australian team was announced this week to compete. This is the first time a dedicated women’s competition will be held in the history of the Homeless World Cup.
“Apart from coming to Melbourne to represent my country, getting selected to be the Captain of the Women’s team is probably the best thing to have ever happened to me,” Toni Whelan had to say. Whelan was awarded Best Female Player of the 2008 National Street Soccer Championships as well.
Says founder Mel Young:
“The Homeless World Cup has demonstrated the power of sport to change lives, to change the world. The sixth Homeless World Cup in Melbourne is the pinnacle of the year round work by grass-roots football programs in 56 nations, which bring together over 30,000 players for training, to rebuild their lives and communities.
“The Homeless World Cup is growing fast, traveling to the far corners of the globe to engage people who are homeless, to change hearts and minds, and to pioneer imaginative solutions to address this key global issue.”
