JULY 11, 2008

Can A Ball Really Change The World?

Two weeks ago I read an article in the Express that said the U.S. Trials for the Homeless World Cup were coming to DC.  That’s right – the Homeless World Cup, coming to recruit homeless men and women from our nation’s capital to compete against other homeless men and women from around the world.  Apparently the local players would stay in George Washington University housing, attend the LA Galaxy-DC United game and compete for a spot on the U.S. national team, which travels to Melbourne, Australia, in December.

Now, I had heard (and quite honestly, chuckled a little) about the Homeless World Cup last year when I learned that ESPN was co-sponsoring a documentary about the global phenomenon.  (You can watch a trailer for the film, entitled “Kicking It,” here).  But what seemed comical at the time - a vision of bearded, teethless individuals scurrying madly about an open field for someone else’s entertainment - was true misconception; I didn’t realize or appreciate potentially how phenomenal the Homeless World Cup could be.

After reading the article in the Express, therefore, I decided I should visit the Homeless World Cup website to learn more.  And, to my utter amazement, this is what I found:

There are one billion homeless people living in our world today.

The Homeless World Cup exists to end this, so we all have a home, a basic human need.

The Homeless World Cup is an annual, international football tournament, uniting teams of people who are homeless and excluded to take a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent their country and change their lives forever. 

If only America’s rich NBA stars could feel the same way about representing their home country in the 2008 Olympics, maybe they wouldn’t lose.  But I digress…

The impact of the Homeless World Cup is consistently significant year after 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 soccer teams.

The ultimate goal of the tournament?  To use sports as a means for social inclusion, involving between 100,000 and one million players by 2012.  In a word, to use sports for social change.

So, yes, a ball really can – and already has – changed the world. 

I wonder: what else can it do?