Day 6 at the Homeless World Cup in Cardiff 2019
|Image: Daniel Lipinski
In the final day of matches before the knockout stages of the Homeless World Cup the action was really heating up across all three pitches in Cardiff.
Men’s Competition:
Today saw the end of Stage 2, with teams now placed to play for one of six trophies during the next and final stage.
In an extremely tight affair in Group A between Mexico & Chile, Chile pulled it back from being 3-1 down within 2 minutes to 4-4 by the final whistle. They would then defeat the holders in a penalty shoot-out to leapfrog Mexico to first place in Group A.
Men’s Group B saw a close affair as in the final minutes of Scotland v France the scores were level at 6-6. However much to the dismay of the Scottish side, France scored a late equaliser in injury time to keep Scotland at the bottom of Group B.
The top two teams in Group C – Portugal and Egypt – faced off against each other on Thursday afternoon. When it was all said and done the game finished 4-4 and Portugal eventually won 3-2 on penalties.
In the Men’s Group G, India and Northern Ireland battled for the top spot in the group. The game was neck-and-neck throughout and a disallowed goal prevented India from going in front but they would then win on penalties to secure first place in the group.
Host team Wales came fourth in their group thus earning a place to fight for the second level trophy, the Cardiff Cup.
Tomorrow will see teams playing the semi and quarter finals for the following trophies:
Homeless World Cup (level one): Chile, Bosnia & Herz, Portugal, Russia, Austria, Egypt, South Africa and Mexico
Cardiff Cup (level two): Bulgaria, Brazil, Poland, Lithuania, France, Costa Rica, Switzerland, and Wales
Glyndwr Cup (level three): Ireland, Scotland, Zimbabwe, Italy, USA, Norway, Hungary, and Indonesia
Dragon Cup (level four): Denmark, Ivory Coast, India, Germany, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, South Korea and England
Llewelyn Cup (level five): Sweden, Czech Rep, Croatia, Cambodia, Belgium, Australia, Hong Kong, and Slovenia
Beddgelart Cup (level six): Israel, Pakistan, Finland, and Greece
Women’s Competition
In the Women’s competition, two unbeaten teams – Chile and Romania – met in a top of the table clash in Group B. In a back-and-forth affair, Romania came out on top, winning 6-5 and securing their place at the top of the table.
Host team Wales will play tomorrow to gain a place in the semi-final for the second level trophy, the Celtic Cup.
Tomorrow will see teams playing the semi and quarter finals for the following trophies:
Homeless World Cup (level one): Mexico, Romania, Peru, Chile, Hungary, England, Austria, and India
Celtic Cup (level 2): Netherlands, USA, Wales, Sweden, Street Football United, Belgium, Norway, and Northern Ireland
For the full results from DAY SIX visit the Homeless World Cup website:
Click here for Women’s results.
Daily live streams are also available on HWC YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and the HWC website
OFF THE PITCH
The Bevan Tent
At 3pm the first ever screening of Cai’s Story took place in the Bevan Tent. Cai’s Story is a short film designed to raise awareness of the very real threat of homelessness for many LGBTQ+ young people.
The Bevan Tent was full, and following the screening a young man called Rudy Harris, who became homeless after having problems with his family due to his sexuality, spoke about his experiences on stage. He was joined by Michael Sheen, as well as the film’s director Tudur Owen.
The event also included an update from End Youth Homelessness Cymru on the findings of a forthcoming report into LGBTQ+ youth homelessness.
Following the Cai’s Story event it was the turn of the acclaimed podcast, The Guilty Feminist, to take to the stage. The event was a live-recording of the hugely popular The Guilty Feminist podcast by Deborah Frances-White, with special guests Michael Sheen and comic, writer and producer, Kemah Bob.
And fresh from their success of selling out the Royal Albert Hall, the 150-seat capacity Bevan Tent was inevitably packed to the rafters with fans of the acclaimed podcast spilling out onto the lawns to enjoy the action on the big screens in the centre of the Homeless World Cup tournament site.
Live Music
And then came the music. At 7pm Aberystwyth band, Mellt, whose ‘incendiary bolts of high voltage tuneage’ (in the words of BBC Wales) got the crowd hyped, before Welsh indie band The Joy Formidable took to the stage for a blistering set that closed out another incredible day at the Homeless World Cup.
Some stories from the Homeless World Cup – Day 6
“I might be in a bad place now, but I won’t be in a bad place forever”
Visitors to the event at Bute Park won’t have missed the big purple bus at the entrance with purple be-vested volunteers handing out information about The Wallich, one of Wales’ leading homeless charities.
Helping deliver a chat, a cup of tea or a sandwich is a very recent recruit to the team, 27-year-old Jordan who was, up until a few days ago, sleeping rough on the streets of Cardiff. How he got there, how he got here, starts in 2014 …
“My parents owned a travelling fairground. I worked in the business and in 2014 we were moving to a different site. They were in the car in front with my sister and I was driving behind them,” he recalls. “Then there was a huge car accident and they were killed.
Click here to read the full story.
“To play with the Italy shirt on, I was like ‘wow’”
At the picnic area next to the pitches in Bute Park, some of the players from Team Italy are hugging, hi-fiving, and congratulating goalkeeper Ruggero Beretta.
Beretta is a player who, thanks to his wonderul baffo (moustache), has become something of a popular figure among the participants at the Homeless World Cup in Cardiff.
The reason? He’s just checked the calendar he keeps on his phone and confirms that he’s been clean from drug use for over a year—378 days to be exact and counting.
And while his teammates jest that he forgot to celebrate the one year anniversary of his recovery, what is shows is the determination Beretta has in his path to recovery from his addiction and desire to move forward with his life.
A former barman who spent time living in London, Paris, and Milan, the 27-year-old from Bergamo found himself in hospital as he became consumed by an addiction to alcohol, drugs, and gambling.
Click here to read the full story.
“Football, for some reason, just cuts through every barrier”
Nick Gates was once more accustomed to the English Premier League than street football, but he’s now helping change lives across the globe.
The Englishman set up Coaches Across Continents in 2008 and hasn’t looked back since. Now in 60 countries worldwide, with another 50 on their waiting list, the company works with local programs to help them design, develop, and implement their own initiatives in their communities.
“We started 11 years ago, and we’re a traditional trainer–trainer model using football,” Nick explains.
“We’re here because we’ve heard so much great stuff about the Homeless World Cup, and I think about six of our groups worldwide are represented here this week, which is great to see.”
Click here to read the full story.
“I will leave here with many emotional memories”
While you will find the majority of Team Finland tucked up in bed catching up on their sleep and recovery in the morning time in Cardiff, that can’t be said for goalkeeper Marko Salmi.
He’ll be found at the crack of dawn in the kitchen, cleaning up, and preparing the morning coffee for the players to wake up to—tasks that reflect his ‘father figure’ status among the team.
“It’s something I enjoy very much,” said Salmi about the responsibility he places on himself to look after his teammates away from the pitch.