Team Portugal head to Champion's League festival to highlight Homeless World Cup
|Former Brazilian and Arsenal player Gilberto Silva with Team Portugal at the UEFA Champions Pitch in Madrid.
Homeless World Cup Foundation Street Football Partner in Portugal, Futebol de Rua – Associação CAIS, recently took part in an exhibition game at the UEFA Champion’s League Festival in Plaza Mayor, in the heart of Madrid.
|Team Portugal at the UEFA Champions Pitch in Madrid, as part of the Champions League Festival
A match in the Homeless World Cup’s special format was organised on UEFA’s Champion’s Pitch.
The team were joined by former professional footballer and one of Arsenal’s famous Invincibles, Gilberto Silva, who spoke to the players, giving advice and talking about his own background in football.
The exhibition showcased the Homeless World Cup tournament at the invitation of UEFA, as part of their Football and Social Responsibility partnership with our Foundation.
Nuno Rodrigues, Community Intervention Officer at Associação CAIS, took charge of the proceedings, explaining the format and rules of our game to the crowds in attendance. To show the inclusive nature of Futebol de Rua, and football in general, Nuno invited everyone in the watching crowd to join in, leading to a great game of football with members of the public.
|Members of the public join in with a game.
The event was a huge success for all involved. “It was really important for our participants and to me to be able to represent this project. Our players were ecstatic when they realised that they could share some words with Gilberto!” said Nuno.
UEFA have supported the Homeless World Cup since it was established in 2003. Find out more about the Homeless World Cup’s partners and sponsors.