Japan wins final FIFPRO Fair Play Award
|Image: Rebecca Corbett / HWC
There were hints throughout the tournament that Japan might be a contender for a FIFPRO Fair Play Award in recognition for their conduct on and off the pitch.
The players, some of whom sell street papers with The Big Issue Japan, started the tournament by seeking out other street paper vendor–players and arranging an introduction and a magazine swap.
So it seemed apt that they finished the tournament with a penultimate match against Greece, that are represented by Shedia - a fellow street paper, where, instead of the teams separating out into ‘home’ and ‘away’ benches, the two teams joined together on one side in a single collective ‘bench’.
After overcoming their initial confusion at the single bench, the Homeless World Cup referees got into the spirit of the approach, instigating chants to allow the Japanese team to cheer for the Greek team, and vice versa.
Throughout the match, the Japanese team, which boasts the tournament’s most mature player, were as focused on ensuring the match was fun and evenly matched as they were about scoring.
It was for this match that Japan, which had impressed all week, was nominated for the fair play award. (Greece themselves won the Hary Milas Spirit of the Game Award in recognition of their goodwill and ethos.)
Japan were announced as the final tournament FIFPRO Fair Play Award winners amid the flurry of final matches playing out across the 2024 Seoul Homeless World Cup, and having rounded out the competition with an equally friendly match to Germany.
Words: Fiona Crawford
Images: Rebecca Corbett / HWC