(Kastles Stadium site for Homeless USA Cup)
Dateline our nation’s capital, Washington, DC:
”Street Soccer USA of the Urban Ministry Center is hosting the second and largest ever Homeless USA Cup in Washington, DC. The three-day tournament will name a national champion and determine who travels to represent the US at the 48 nation, Homeless World Cup in Melbourne, Australia.
Over the course of a weekend 100 homeless individuals will compete on behalf of their city for the US Cup. Teams will come from Ann Arbor, Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Richmond, Phoenix, San Francisco, St. Louis, and Washington DC.
“Being homeless means being isolated. Soccer is great because it connects players not only to their teammates and coaches, but to a billion people who play around the world,” says Lawrence Cann Founder and President of Street Soccer USA (SSUSA) and director of Community Works 945 at the Urban Ministry Center where the first US street soccer program originated.
Each of the participants have faced the reality of being homeless at least within the past year and organizers point out that over 70 percent of participants from previous tournaments have improved their lives by quitting drugs, moving into jobs, getting an education and even reuniting with their families.”
There are those who scoff when some of us in the ‘sport for social change movement’ say that a ball can change someone’s life. I’ve seen it because I’ve lived it. Having attended two Homeless World Cup tournaments - Cape Town in ‘06 and Copenhagen in ‘07 - I have seen the global face of homelessness, but also the universal appeal of sports as a tool for change. The hope, the passion, the dedication, the discipline triggered by competition, by participation in the world’s most popular sport - the beautiful game - can produce life shifts of major proportions. How do I know this? Because I’ve seen it!
If you are anywhere near Washington, DC, please check out this weekend’s HWC qualifying tourney (June 27-29th 2008) and see miracles in action for yourself.
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