The Homeless World Cup is an annual, world-class, international football tournament. Every year, teams of men and women who are homeless get the chance to represent their country during the week-long street football competition.

The Homeless World Cup was co-founded by Mel Young and Harald Schmied, who came up with the idea following a conference about homelessness in 2001.

They wanted to change the lives of homeless people all over the world, and they believed football could help them do it. The first Homeless World Cup took place in Graz, Austria in 2003 with 18 teams, and the event and network has been growing steadily ever since, occupying a pioneering role in the field of Sport and Development.

Read more about our history

Being homeless can be incredibly isolating, making people feel removed from society and alone.

Joining a football team can be a small but hugely significant step in helping an individual to feel part of a community.

Read more about how football can help end homelessness.

The Homeless World Cup is the highlight of the year for our Partners and provides an aspirational goal for players. The experience is transformational for both participants and members of the audience and challenges attitudes towards homelessness.

Players represent their country in front of a supportive audience when previously they could feel removed from mainstream society.

By taking part in the tournament, players are given the opportunity to travel, often leaving their countries for the first time. They also become part of a global community of players who have faced similar challenges. The tournament is designed to be competitive, but its special structure and emphasis on fair play mean that everyone plays until the last day. There are several levels of competition and trophies to win, providing a sense of achievement for teams of all skill levels.

Our Partners use football as part of their wider community programmes. When players return, a huge percentage of them improve their lives through education, employment in social enterprises and other businesses, substance abuse rehabilitation, and supported housing.

Some players also take on voluntary and paid roles with our Partners as coaches and support staff. An amazing 94% of players consistently say that the Homeless World Cup has had a positive impact on their lives.

The feeling of belonging, challenge of working in a team, regaining a health-oriented attitude towards life, self-esteem, experience of representing their country, and last but not least the experience of fun is a powerful combination to change a person’s life.

Read our player stories

There are lots of different ways to help:

You can donate to the Homeless World Cup Foundation here

You can express an interest to volunteer at future Homeless World Cups.

Find out about how your can organisation can become a Member Country.

Join our squad and become a Homeless World Cup corporate partner.

Host a future Homeless World Cup in your city.

Tell the world about us and help us to raise awareness: spread the word on social media and talk to your friends and family about us.

Yes - The Homeless World Cup is an annual tournament bringing together formerly homeless players from across the globe to compete in a street football tournament. The first tournament was played in Graz in 2003 and more than twenty years later it is still going.

Is The Beautiful Game based on a true story? Yes - it's inspired by hundreds of true stories of players who have represented their countries at the Homeless World Cup.

Homeless World Cup Foundation brand guidelines

Please email press@homelessworldcup.org for more information and any use of the Homeless World Cup brand must be approved and signed off by the Homeless World Cup Foundation.

For Seoul 2024 brand guidelines please email press@homelessworldcup.org