homeless world cup

yabadabado

saw this article on the back of the indo today
dont know what the big deal is sure players are always reporting back late from international duty.


15 players go on the run during Homeless World Cup soccer final

AFRICAN participation in the Homeless World Cup, a football tournament designed to improve the confidence of former vagrants, was under review last night after 15 players went on the run at the finals in Denmark.

The competition's aim - to offer a golden opportunity for homeless people to change their lives - was taken literally by seven players from Burundi, four from Liberia, three from Cameroon and one from Afghanistan.

Danish police were looking for the footballers last night but admitted they could easily have travelled further afield in the Schengen system of 15 "borderless" EU countries, which do not require visitors to show passports. The players' visas expired on Monday after the tournament ended.

Kay Byles, a spokeswoman for the Scottish-based Homeless World Cup Foundation, said it was the first of the annual contests - which started in 2002 - to experience runaways. Arrangements for next year's cup in Melbourne would be reviewed, she said.

"Basically, the organisation is a bit in shock and we are really sorry that they have let down Denmark, their teammates and the projects for the homeless," she said.

"We held the cup in Cape Town last year and it was an amazing success. We will just have to see whether we work with projects locally or incentivise them to return home."

"We do not want to penalise the Africans, so an incentive to return home could be part of getting on the team," she added.

The cup was the brainchild of Mel Young, founder of The Big Issue in Scotland, who has said its aim was to "create a mechanism where homeless people can change the circumstances in their lives".

He added three out of four players "change their lives for the better after participating".

Five-hundred players from 48 nations participated in this year's tournament in which Scotland beat Poland in the final by nine goals to three. Despite losing four players, Liberia came third.

Danish police said that they would arrest and deport the runaways if they were found.

Ghost Train

I remember hearing about this competition a few years ago (or whenever it first started).

I guess its understandable that its better to be homeless in eu than third world/developing african countries

bohsman

I just missed out on the Irish squad in 2002.

_blank_

This same thing happened in Australia in 2006, some team of Africans absconded from the Commonwealth Games.

I don't know if they were homeless though.

gustavo

I hear they are trying to get Pat Scully in as manager , given his prior experience with homeless teams.

ziggy

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