GUEST BLOG (OUR SQUAD): PETER BARR
A new paperback edition of Home Game, by Homeless World Cup trustee Peter Barr and Mel Young MBE, the founder of the Homeless World Cup, is now available to buy: https://www.luath.co.uk/product/home-game
Complete with a new chapter updating what has happened since the global pandemic forced the cancellation of three annual tournaments, Home Game tells the true story of the Homeless World Cup.
Peter Barr talks to the Homeless World Cup media team about the updated version of Home Game and why it’s such an important tool in telling the story of the Homeless World Cup:
“Home Game tells 'the true story' of the Homeless World Cup, which was the inspiration for the film, The Beautiful Game scripted by Frank Cottrell-Boyce. Frank and the team at Blueprint Pictures, who produced the film (directed by Thea Sharrock), have been coming to the tournament for several years, meeting the players and learning face-to-face from them how homelessness is very different in different countries – and within countries like the UK. Many players who appear in the film have also been homeless or taken part in 'the real thing,' so members of the cast could draw from their experience.
Around the world, definitions of homelessness vary a lot. For some it means simply not having a roof over your head or sleeping in the street but even if you live in a hostel or a night shelter you are still considered homeless. No matter how you define it, however, homelessness means being cut off from society and feeling excluded.
One major issue facing every homeless person is being stigmatised. Bill Nighy (plays England Manager Mal in the film) recently said: 'People’s circumstances don’t define them as human beings,' and homeless people should not be regarded as a 'different species,' any more than anyone else, he added. As one of the other actors who stars in the film, Callum Scott Howells (plays England player Nathan in the film), said: 'These people are not just statistics or numbers. They are real.'
Peter Barr giving out a medal (to the Korean goalkeeper) at the Sacramento 2023 Homeless World Cup.
“The film captures all of these issues by showing how excluded people all face their own personal challenges – some players have addiction problems, others are alienated from their families, some come out of prison with no home to go to and some are refugees who struggle to find jobs and somewhere to live. Many ex-soldiers also struggle when they come back to civilian life and often have mental health issues which make it hard to settle down.
The idea behind the Homeless World Cup is that players emerge from the tournament determined to make a new life for themselves – more than 1.2 million people in over 70 counties have been impacted positively from playing in the Homeless World Cup since 2003, and 94 per cent of the players who have taken part in the tournament reported that it had a 'positive result' on their lives, including getting a home or a job or improving their relationships with families and friends.
The 'hero' of the film, a character called Vinny, was a promising footballer who didn't make it as a professional, split up with his wife and ended up sleeping in his car – like 'sofa surfing' one way people cope when they're homeless. Before he is signed up to go to the Homeless World Cup in the film (set in Rome), Vinny – like many people – is also in denial about being homeless but when he gets to know the other players from countries all over the world, he starts to face up to the truth.”
'The Beautiful Game is about second chances,' said Mel Young, President of the Homeless World Cup and co-author of the Home Game alongside Peter.
“You hear these moving stories every year at the Homeless World Cup. What people may not realise, however, is that when the players arrive, wearing their national strips, they are already starting to change their own lives, thanks to the power of football. Spectators often say 'the players don't look like homeless people,' so we ask: What do homeless people look like?'
The cast and everyone involved with the film have also become 'part of the Homeless World Cup family,'. Actor Colin Farrell (one of the producers of The Beautiful Game) kicked off the project when he got involved in a documentary called Kicking It about the Homeless World Cup in Cape Town in 2008 and 'fell in love' with the event.
Founded in 2003, the next Homeless World Cup will be hosted in Seoul this year by Big Issue Korea at Hanyang University from Saturday 21st-27th September. This marks a significant milestone in the history of the Homeless World Cup – the first time the tournament will take place in Asia. Fifty nations are expected to participate, including men's and women's teams.
I was lucky to attend last year's event in Sacramento, California, and I’m also involved in the planning of the 'Cities Ending Homelessness' Conference which will be a highlight of this year's event, attracting speakers and delegates from countries worldwide.”
Peter Barr