Goal!: The Story of the Homeless World Cup

by Mel Young

They were discussing how best homeless street paper sellers could benefit from the international dimension of their work and agreed that football was an international language that everybody understood, so they decided to organise a football tournament. The first Homeless World Cup took place in Graz, Austria, in April 2003, and it was such a phenomenal success that the organisers agreed to make the event annual. The second World Cup was held in Gothenburg in July 2004, the third one is due to be held in New York City in July 2005 and the 2006 World Cup is to be held in Cape Town. This remarkable book documents the entire project, focusing on the glorious atmosphere in Graz, the philosophy behind the tournament, the psychological team-building, the impact of poverty worldwide and, most importantly, the players themselves, who were transformed from society's outcasts into heroes. Some players have even signed up to professional football clubs now.Professional clubs like Real Madrid and Manchester United are becoming involved and the world's governing football authorities, as well as the United Nations, are now offering support to develop street soccer as a tool to tackle homelessness and exclusion.

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Mel Young is a social entrepreneur and has been for most of his life. He is a change-maker and believes passionately that homelessness around the world can be ended.

Reviews

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Homeless World Cup brings together teams of homeless street soccer players from around the world to compete for their country in an annual tournament. The book follows the first two years of the tournament: 2003 in Graz, Austria, and 2004 in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Author Mel Young, founder of street paper The Big Issue Scotland, writes what is actually a very compelling narrative about how he and his colleagues started the HWC. Almost a third of the book is profiles of players -- I can see how these stories might get tiresome to some readers, but I really enjoy them. The journalistic language makes it a quick read, and the short chapters make it a great book to carry with you on the bus.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in soccer or in homeless issues. For more info on the Homeless World Cup, check out www.homelessworldcup.org.