Homeless World Cup’s Ideals Brought to Life as 20th Anniversary Tournament Kicks off in the Californian Sun
One of the primary goals of the Homeless World Cup is to foster connections and community, and the event’s 18th edition appeared to achieve that aim early on opening day. By the dozens and then the hundreds, athletes filled the lawn at the north end of Sacramento State University. They chatted, mingled and took photos together, jerseys of one national color mingling in a friendly mosaic with those of another. Common bonds were obvious even if the languages weren’t.
But the HWC is also a competition, and as the players paraded along the leafy mile en route to Hornet Stadium, national pride and identity emerged. The atmosphere shifted just a bit as kickoffs approached.
Credit: Dan Higginson
The Australians led the way while carrying large, inflatable kangaroos. The Norwegians wore plastic novelty Viking helmets. The Mexicans donned Lucha Libre masks. Songs and chants—the sort heard in partisan supporters sections at arenas across the world—echoed through the dormant campus. The Bulgarians, Finns and Indonesians shouted their country’s name. The Scots and Norwegians sang as they walked.
Credit: Anita Milas, Dan Higginson, Donnie Nicholson
A couple of hours after posing for a picture together, the men from Mexico and Italy opposed each other on the middle of the three small pitches erected inside the 21,000-seat American football facility. This was one of the marquee matches of opening day and Mexico, wearing the traditional red, white and green of El Tri, quickly established the competitive standard.
Credit: Anita Milas
Homeless World Cup rules prohibit repeat participation yet for the past decade-plus, Street Soccer Mexico has fielded a juggernaut. Players rotate through but the results remain the same: the men have won four of the past five titles and the women have claimed five straight.
Both got off to strong starts on Saturday. The Mexicans have mastered the geometry of the HWC game, a fast-paced, 4 v. 4 version of soccer played on a 22 x 16 meter surface. The goals are only 4 x 1.3 meters large (or small). Yet the Mexican men consistently found the net against Italy, demonstrating their ability to finish from tight angles, with quick releases and on shots curled neatly into the corner. Shortly after Mexico’s men won, 10-4, the women passed around and through Wales on their way to an emphatic 13-0 triumph.
Mexico’s results were somewhat expected. The hosts’ outcomes were not. The USA hasn’t enjoyed much on-field success at past Homeless World Cups, but the American men and women certainly seemed to relish competing on home soil. The USA’s Sienna Jackson tallied the tournament’s first goal as the U.S. women shut out Finland, 3-0, in Saturday’s debut game. Immediately thereafter, the U.S. men defeated Indonesia, 8-2.
Credit: Anita Milas
Saturday’s other men’s winners were Bulgaria, Portugal, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Chile, Poland, Lithuania, Brazil, Hungary and Austria. Additional women’s bracket winners were France, Romania, Chile and Ireland. Each nation played only once (four men’s teams had byes and so contested friendly games), but the workload will increase starting Sunday.
That workload will present a notable challenge to Denmark’s men. For most players, the journey to the Homeless World Cup is, by definition, a challenging one. Detours and obstacles have been part of their lives. For Denmark, which hosted the HWC back in 2007, additional hurdles emerged just before year’s tournament as several players were denied visas to travel. Only four men made the journey. And so they took the field Saturday against Chile without substitutes, under the high, bright sun, and endured a 10-1 beating.
They did so, however, in a manner that brought this competition’s ideals to life. It’s easy to display pride during a parade. It’s a lot tougher when your legs and lungs are burning, and the game has long been lost. But Denmark’s conduct under adversity so impressed officials that they nominated the side for the HWC’s daily FifPro Fair Play Award, the first of which will be announced on Monday (the Costa Rican men were also nominated).
“Denmark showed a lot of grit and discipline. They never lost focus. They never got frustrated and stayed humble…,” the referee wrote in his report. “Denmark showed the true spirit of overcoming adversity and continuing to improve—the spirit of HWC.”
It was, even when conditions were difficult, a fitting start.
Credit: Donnie Nicholson