The Homeless World Cup took place in Melbourne, Australia on December 1-6 and proved to be a truly incredible event for everyone invovled. The event brought people from all over the world together to prove the power that sports has on changing lives. Below is a reflection of the event from Caitlin Fisher, an international developement employee with the Nike Foundation.

The Hope Cup

The 2008 Homeless World Cup in Melbourne, Australia just ended. My mind is racing as I try to cling to the images, the sounds and the conversations that took place over the course of the past seven days. I am going to need days to fully absorb and process what I just experienced as assistant coach of the Paraguayan Women’s Soccer Team at the first Women’s Homeless World Cup.

My experiences playing professional soccer in Brazil and Sweden, and now working in the field of international development at the Nike Foundation have helped me recognize sport as one of the most powerful tools for positive social change and empowerment. I have witnessed the power of soccer to teach life skills, challenge gender norms, redefine machismo and create a shared sense of belonging. My understanding of the ability of the world’s most popular sport to turn around lives and bring the socially excluded out of isolation was brought to whole new level this week at the Homeless World Cup. This was one of the most uplifting and unifying events that I have ever experienced.

The coming together of nations, cultures, languages, and colors was only half of it. It was even more amazing to see people from every corner of the world step onto the field, representing their country after overcoming so many barriers.

“Homelessness” meant much more than “houselessness.” Here, ‘homelessness’ extended to the broader notion of social isolation, of not feeling supported by society. Players came from developed and developing countries: some living in shelters and recovering from substance abuse, others orphaned by AIDS or living in refugee camps, others with families but with inadequate access to safe housing on an ongoing basis, others denied mobility through cultural pressures, and still others living in extreme poverty. But at the Cup, people’s backgrounds, histories, and socio-economic status became insignificant; our differences were dissolved by our love for soccer and willingness to share the moment. The uniforms played a large role in putting us all on equal footing; only the occasional tattoo or scar peeking out from behind the outfit reminded everyone of tougher times. Watching players embrace after games and communicate through body language and laughter reminded me of how much we all have in common and of our eagerness to relate to one another.

I coached the girls from one of our partners, Fundacion Paraguaya. I worked to lead the girls, serve as a role model, and help them improve their game and mindset towards the sport. We lost our first four matches in a row and while we all recognized the greater purpose of the Cup and the unimportance of the score, it was still extremely difficult to lose game after game—by significant margins. Losing continuously is never easy for anyone, and especially so for people who come from vulnerable backgrounds and who have often felt like failures. I attempted to boost the girls’ morale through pep talks, words of encouragement and reminders of the bigger experience, but their spirits were low. It was not until we notched our first victory against Australia that the girls snapped back to their joyous selves, the ones who had marched with pride in the opening-day parade. Noelia, our goalkeeper leapt into the air, threw off her gloves and tackled me with the biggest hug imaginable.

It was not the victory alone that rejuvenated my girls though; it was the win in combination with our opponents’ sportsmanship in the face of defeat that lifted our spirits. When the final whistle blew, the Australian girls ran over to our team, bombarded us with hugs, then grabbed our hands and we spun around in a circle, cheering, smiling, laughing and crying, all as one. Our team quickly realized that the win felt great but what felt even better was seeing our opponent show so much character in rejoicing with us. This one moment changed our attitude and outlook for the rest of the Cup—from then on, win or lose, we would join in a circle with the opposing team and celebrate the sport, the friendships, and the moment together.
I not only saw my girls’ perspectives change and grow over the course of the week, but also felt my own views change through a deeper understanding of sport’s ability to bring people together and to create hope. Together we created hope in individuals’ lives for happiness and brighter futures, hope for a sense of belonging, hope that people could care, hope that communities will be strengthened to support those in need and prevent others from falling, and hope that people will let go of their fears and open their minds and their hearts. This was not the Homeless World Cup, it was the Hope World Cup.