Homeless World Cup
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| Founded | 2001 |
|---|---|
| Region | Worldwide |
| Current champions | |
| Most championships | |
| Broadcaster | FIFA+[1] |
| Website | www |
The Homeless World Cup (HWC) is an annual association football tournament organized by the Homeless World Cup Foundation, a social organization which advocates the end of homelessness through the sport. The organization puts together an annual football tournament where teams of homeless people from various countries compete.
The tournament was first held in 1999, and in 2008 it added a women's competition. From 2010 onwards, all tournaments have featured both men's and women's teams.
Sport has untapped potential as a strategic tool for preventing homelessness by engaging at-risk individuals early and building protective factors like resilience and social connection. Sport can also lead to a trusted "gateway" to support services and employment[2].
History
[edit]
The Homeless World Cup organization was co-founded by Mel Young and Harald Schmied in 2001 to advocate for a global solution to homelessness. The first annual football tournament for homeless people took place in 2003 in Graz, Austria. Host cities since then have included Gothenburg, Edinburgh, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Melbourne, Milan, Rio de Janeiro, Paris, Poznań, Santiago, Amsterdam, Glasgow, Oslo, Mexico City, and Cardiff.[3]
The 2019 edition was hosted by Wales in Bute Park, Cardiff, with Michael Sheen opening the tournament.[4] The 2020 tournament had been due to take place in Tampere, Finland, but was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]
The 2023 tournament took place in Sacramento, California, and the 2024 edition took place in Seoul, Korea.[6]
The international headquarters of the Homeless World Cup is located at 23 Union Street, in Edinburgh, Scotland.[7]
National partners
[edit]The Homeless World Cup organization operates through a network of more than 79 national partners around the world, supporting football programs and social enterprise development.[8]
Afghanistan
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Brazil
Bulgaria
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Egypt
England
Ethiopia
Finland
France
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Grenada
Haiti
Hong Kong
Hungary
India
Indonesia
Ireland
Italy
Ivory Coast
Japan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kyrgyzstan
Liberia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malawi
Mexico
Moldova
Namibia
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nigeria
Northern Ireland
Norway
Pakistan
Palestine
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Rwanda
Scotland
Serbia
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Timor-Leste
Uganda
Ukraine
United States
Vietnam
Wales
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Members
[edit]There are 75 Nations in October 2023, split into 5 regions:[9]
- Africa (14): Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
- Asia & Oceania (12): Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Philippines, South Korea, Vietnam
- Europe (31): Austria, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, Wales
- North America & Central America & The Caribbean (6): Costa Rica, Grenada, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, USA
- South America (6): Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru
Format
[edit]Fields
[edit]Since 2015 the tournament has been played on synthetic turf fields from Act Global.
Rules
[edit]Player eligibility
[edit]Players must meet all of the following criteria:
- Be at least 16 years old at the time of the tournament
- Have not taken part in previous Homeless World Cup tournaments
Also, must be any of the following:
- Have been homeless at some point after the previous year's tournament in accordance with the national definition of homelessness
- Make their main living income as a streetpaper vendor
- Be asylum seekers currently without positive asylum status or who were previously asylum seekers but obtained residency status a year before the event
- Currently be in drug or alcohol rehabilitation and also have been homeless at some point in the past two years
Participants
[edit]A maximum of 4 players per team on the court:
- 3 outfield players,
- 1 goalkeeper,
- Plus 4 substitution players (rolling substitution allowed)
Tournament details
[edit]The winning team gets 3 points. The losing team gets zero points. If a match ends in a draw, it is decided by sudden-death penalty shootout and the winning team gets two points and the losing team gets one point. Games are 14 minutes long, in two seven-minute halves. The field measures 22m long x 16m wide.