|
South Africa has won the bid to host the 2006 Homeless Street Soccer World Cup, an annual event which attracts teams from all over the world and an array of international journalists. Unlike mainstream soccer, the street soccer is played on a hard surfaced court with four-a-side teams. According to the International Network of Street Papers, the 2004 tournament was held in Gothenburg in Sweden in July and involved 26 teams from Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas - with Italy emerging as the winners.
Next year's tournament, which will be played in New York, has been expanded to involve 32 nations. South Africa sent teams to the 2003 and 2004 tournaments made up of members of "The Big Issue" soccer team. "The Big Issue" is a monthly magazine produced by journalists and sold by homeless and unemployed people to generate income. The magazine, a member of the International Network of Street Papers, has reportedly helped put more than R8-million into the pockets of homeless South Africans. According to the editor of "The Big Issue" and team coach, James Garner, many of the team members had never boarded an aircraft or visited a foreign country before. Many had never slept in a hotel either, he added. The team finished eighth in this year's tournament - played in Sweden in July - and seventh last year. "Hosting the 2006 tournament will be good for The Big Issue, good for the team and good for the country" Garner said. "It will do much to draw attention to issues of poverty." The organisers hope to hold the 2006 tournament on Cape Town's Grand Parade. |
