Yearly, Homeless World Cup Foundation delivers an inspirational week-long street football tournament that brings together more than 450 players from 40+ countries around the world, all of which have faced homelessness and social marginalisation.

The tournament attracts thousands of visitors each year with millions more online followers.

The Homeless World Cup is the highlight of the year for Homeless World Cup Foundation’s National Partners and provides an aspirational goal for players. The experience is transformational for both participants and members of the audience and challenges attitudes towards homelessness. Players represent their country in front of a supportive audience when previously they were alienated from mainstream society. They are given the opportunity to travel as well as meet people who have faced similar challenges. The tournament is designed to be competitive, but its special structure and emphasis on fair play means that everyone plays until the last day. There are several levels of competition and trophies to win, providing a sense of achievement for teams of all skill levels.

The Homeless World Cup also challenges societal attitudes towards homeless people. Research by La Trobe University has shown that it significantly impacts attitudes towards homeless people for the better among members of the audience.

The first Homeless World Cup took place in Graz in 2003. The Austrian city welcomed 144 players form 18 countries. Since then the tournament has travelled to 15 different cities across the world and has grown to accommodate 64+ teams and more than 500 players.

Over the years, the Homeless World Cup has grown to an international event, and while the format of the event and the game itself remains pretty much the same, every Homeless World Cup is unique.

The Foundation’s National Partners integrated football with other approaches locally. When players return, a huge percentage of them improved their lives through education, employment in social enterprises and other businesses, substance abuse rehabilitation, and supported housing. According to the carried out evaluations, an amazing 94% of players consistently say that the Homeless World Cup has had a positive impact on their lives. The feeling of belonging, challenge of working in a team, regaining a health-oriented attitude towards life, self-esteem, experience of representing their country, and last but not least the experience of fun is a powerful combination to change a person’s life.

MILLION LIVES CHANGED SINCE 2003

The Homeless World Cup Foundation supports a network of around 70 local grassroots projects around the world.

While the Foundation is most famous for organising and delivering the Homeless World Cup annual tournament, it also aims to support and develop grassroots projects that utilise football as a tool for social change.

Our street football partners operate in more than 450 locations, reaching 100,000 homeless people every year.

So far, the Homeless World Cup Foundation and its partners have impacted the lives of 1.2 million homeless people around the globe.

Each year, the network of street football partners select more than 500 players to compete in the annual Homeless World Cup tournament. Of those participants:

94%

Say the Homeless World Cup positively impacted their lives

83%

Improved social relations with family and friends

77%

Changed their lives significantly because of their involvement in football

71%

Continue to play the sport

The players at the tournament are the tip of the iceberg, individuals whose efforts and dedication to National Partner programmes—and to changing their lives—have earned them the opportunity of a lifetime. The reach of the Homeless World Cup extends much farther than the 500 players who attend the annual event.

In addition to inspiring marginalised people to make positive changes in their lives, the Homeless World Cup annual tournament aims to challenge public’s perceptions of homelessness and the issues that surround it. By showing the human side of homelessness, we aim to help breakdown stereotypes and change the ways in which we think and talk about homelessness.

A survey conducted on spectators at the Cardiff 2019 Homeless World Cup found that:

90%

Now have a more positive attitude towards homeless people because of attending the event

62%

Felt the event made them more aware of the issue of homelessness

83%

Were proud their city was hosting the event

SOCIAL RETURN ON INVESTMENT

In addition to changing the lives of players and perceptions of homelessness worldwide, the Homeless World Cup Tournament in Cardiff generated a social return of $4.32 for every dollar invested.

A study performed by Pro Social Valuation, which covers the 2019 impact of both the Homeless World Foundation and the Homeless World Cup Tournament in Cardiff, tells a powerful story of the organisation’s social impact. The Homeless World Cup Foundation created $364+ million in social capital through the year-round, worldwide programmes of its National Partners. The Homeless World Cup Tournament in Cardiff created $12 million in social capital. In addition, social capital was generated by Tournament sponsors.

Homelessness forces people into isolation, which affects their ability to share, communicate, and work with others. When a person who is homeless gets involved in football, they build relationships and become teammates who learn to trust and share. They have a responsibility to attend training sessions and games, to be on time, and to be prepared to participate. They feel that they are part of something larger than themselves. The sense of empowerment that comes from participating in street football helps people who are homeless see that they can change their lives.

Football also improves other aspects of a person’s life, such as physical health and self-esteem, and experience has shown that it is an effective way of engaging people who are homeless who have not responded to other methods of intervention.