This year’s England Homeless World Cup squad has been unveiled with players from right across the country.
The team of eight young men will head to Rio de Janeiro on 16 September, to represent England in the 8th annual Homeless World Cup tournament.
This year the squad is made up of players from Liverpool, London, Luton, Birmingham, Cambridge and Bournemouth.
The England team, which is managed by The Big Issue in the North, have been selected from hundreds of young men, through a series of trials held in partnership with the Manchester United Foundation.
Reds’ Manager Sir Alex Ferguson has spoken in support of the team, ahead of their challenge:
“I hear the team has been training hard in preparation for the World Cup so I hope that their dedication pays off. These lads have been selected as the best from up and down the country, so obviously the coaches have seen something in them – let’s hope they can bring home a trophy.
This tournament is great because it will give them the motivation and confidence to move on with their lives – so trophy or no trophy they are still winners.”
The Homeless World Cup is an annual, international football tournament, uniting teams of people who are homeless and excluded from around the world to change their lives for the better.
Former Portuguese amateur, Bebe has just been signed to Manchester United Football Club, which has proven the existence of opportunities available to homeless players.
Following a television appeal for sponsorship, the England team have received funding from The Anglo American Group Foundation, video messaging website WinkBall.com and Reed in Partnership.
England’s Manager Richard Brown from The Big Issue in the North said: “We’re really excited to be taking part in the Homeless World Cup tournament. England has competed in every tournament so far and each year the lads taking part benefit greatly, whether it’s boosting confidence, gaining training and employment or even getting signed to football clubs. “
Charlotte Edgeworth, manager, Anglo American Group Foundation, added: “We are delighted to be able to support the England Homeless World Cup Team – it is such a unique opportunity and we can see the difference that it makes to the lives of the participants. We wish the team every success in Brazil!”
Editors Notes:
All players in this year’s England Homeless World Cup team were classed as homeless at some point since the end of the last Homeless World Cup. This might mean they have lived in a hostel, in supported accommodation or stayed in insecure accommodation – such as sleeping on a friend’s floor.
Previous England team members have gone on to do coaching courses, play for non-league football teams such as Stafford Rangers, find full time employment and have been re-united with family members.
Homeless World Cup (www.homelessworldcup.org)
Beating homelessness through football, the Homeless World Cup is an annual world class, international football tournament inspiring 64 national grass roots football projects and over 30,000 homeless players a year to change their lives: over 70% change for the better. The 8th Rio 2010 Homeless World Cup takes place from 19 – 26 September 2010 at Copacabana Beach, Rio, Brazil before the baton is handed to the Paris 2011 Homeless World Cup from 19 – 29 August 2011. Homeless World Cup is supported by UEFA, Vodafone Foundation, Nike, global ambassador Eric Cantona, international footballers Didier Drogba and Rio Ferdinand.
Manchester United Foundation was formed to celebrate 50 years of the Club playing in Europe. It aims to use the passion for Manchester United to educate, motivate and inspire young people to build a better life for themselves and improve the communities they live in. The Foundation delivers football coaching, skills training, personal development and life changing experiences, providing young people with opportunities to change their lives for the better. Through football,
it encourages them to develop as players and more importantly as people.
Sponsors
The Anglo American Group Foundation was established in 2005 to provide grants to charities both in the UK and overseas, around the areas where Anglo Amercian PLC has operations. Although funded solely by Anglo American PLC, it is an independent registered charity governed by a Board of Trustees and run on a day-to-day basis by a part time manager.
The Foundation aims to make a positive impact upon society, focusing on key areas of giving. These include education, health/HIV, international development, the environment and local communities.
The key goal of the Foundation is to create sustainable livelihoods, targeting communities in a holistic way to tackle multiple issues bearing in mind long term strategies and goals. In addition the Foundation seeks collaboration with other organisations to maximise the impact of donations.
Reed in Partnership is part of the Reed family of companies, the UK’s leading recruitment, HR services and training provider with 50 years’ experience in this market place.
Reed in Partnership specialises in programmes designed to break down the barriers to employment. Working closely with employers, Jobcentre Plus, the Learning and Skills Council. Local authorities and specialist agencies, as well as teaming up with many local community and voluntary partners, Reed in Partnership helps the long-term unemployed to overcome their barriers to work, helping them achieve real, positive and lasting change in their lives.
Established in 1998, the company has delivered services to support 150,000 of the hardest to help unemployed people, placed over 100,000 people into employment and worked with more than 20,000 employers, ranging form SMEs to large corporations.
WinkBall.Com is a free, web-based, personal video communication service, which allows anyone to record, send and share videos with friends and family – privately. Users can also create and post content to video blogs and video walls for group viewing.
Video messages delivered by WinkBall can be accessed anywhere, anytime through a web browser. WinkBall is also used by brands and organisations to share video content, which users can actively choose to watch and share.
All messages sent through WinkBall are supported by targeted five-second advertisements, which are played at the end of video messages. WinkBalll is safe, simple and fun and makes video the best way to communicate online.
Established in London in 2005, the WinkBall project team has evolved to become a leading player in driving the future development of online communication.
