Austria
HOMELESS WORLD CUP AUSTRIA
Homeless World Cup Austria work in partnership with organisations across Austria to build a network of street football projects. Their aim is to promote social inclusion through sport.
They offer support for people who are experiencing homelessness, or have done so in the past year. They also reach out for street vendors, asylum seekers, refugees and people affected by substance abuse.
Their men’s/mixed team is coached by Gilbert Prilasnig, former Austrian International, while their women’s team is coached by Emily Cancienne, who represented Sturm Graz in the Austrian League, and UEFA Women’s Champions League.
PARTICIPANTS
Men and women, 16 years or older, who are homeless, or have been homeless in the past year, street vendors, asylum seekers, refugees, those undergoing alcohol or drug rehabilitation or those who have done so in the past two years.
LOCATIONS
Nationwide
Country statistics
22 out of 189 in Human Development Index rankings (UNDP, 2024)
Average annual salary per person $55,070 (World Bank, 2024)
Approximately 20,000 people are registered as homeless in Austria (FEANTSA)
Austria is a small landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of 8.9 million, with almost two thirds of people living in urban centres. The capital of Austria, Vienna has a population of 1.9 million (CIA World Factbook, 2024).
A quarter of people currently living in Austria have migrated to the country. Since 2015, the highest number of people are from Syria, Romania, Ukraine, Germany and Hungary. As part of a migration survey conducted in 2024, people with migrant backgrounds were asked about their affiliation to the country, with almost three-quarters feeling a sense of belonging to the country. (Statistics Austria, 2024).
Once a refugee’s status is recognised by the Austrian Government, they can access support (including temporary housing) for four months, however this has been recognised as insufficient as there are limited support services to help people to transition after the support has ended. In December 2023 20,629 asylum seekers, 3,804 people with refugee status and 10,719 beneficiaries of subsidiary protection were receiving basic benefits (in addition to refugees from Ukraine who have relocated to the country following the Russian invasion in February 2022) (AIDA, 2024).
More than half of people in Austrian capital, Vienna live in social housing which is the legacy of an ambitious first world war building scheme (The Guardian, 2024). Despite this an estimated 20,000 people in Austria are registered as homeless in the country and around 10,000 of these are living in the capital. Campaigners say this highlights that affordable housing is not the sole solution to ending homelessness in Austria. (FEANTSA, 2024) Also as there is no nationwide service, support services vary widely between states (Amnesty International, 2022).
Housing First has been trialled in the country since 2012, through the “arriving home” programme it is believed by some that homelessness could be eradicated in the country through a collaboration between the government and Housing First [Housing First].
The majority of organisations working in Austria, follow the European typology for homelessness and housing exclusion (ETHOS) developed by the European organisation working for homeless assistance (FEANTSA).
STORIES from the region
