Portugal

FUTEBOL DE RUA – CAIS ASSOCIATION

CAIS Association was founded in 1994 to support people suffering extreme poverty and social exclusion, notably those who are homeless, so they can regain independence and control of their lives. With 18 years of experience, CAIS distinguishes itself today through a unique and pioneering mission of inclusion and intervention.

Futebol de Rua (Street Football) is the football-based programme run by CAIS Association. The team put together by the project first participated in the Homeless World Cup in 2004, and today Futebol de Rua is a nationwide project with a range of different activities.

ORGANISATION DETAILS

PARTICIPANTS

Men and women suffering extreme poverty and social isolation.

LOCATIONS

In 19 districts across Portugal.

Country statistics

38 out of 189 in Human Development Index rating
(UNDP, 2019)

Average annual salary per person $21,790 (World Bank, 2021)

Only 2% of housing in Portugal is social housing. (Macau Business, 2022)

Sandwiched between Spain and the Atlantic Ocean, Portugal has a population of 10.26 million. The population is concentrated along or near the Atlantic coast, with both Lisbon and the second largest city, Porto, being coastal cities. As of 2021, 66.8% of the population lived in urban areas. 2.9 million people live in the capital city of Lisbon, and 1.3 million live in Porto (CIA Factbook, 2020).

As of 2019, the unemployment rate was 6.55%, with youth unemployment, between the ages of 15-24 was 22.6% (CIA Factbook, 2020).

According to The Portugal News, a national survey completed in 2020 identified 8,209 homeless people in Portugal, with the majority of these individuals concentrated in the metropolitan area of Lisbon.

They identified a main area of concern in the Alentejo region, where some municipalities found between nine and 11 people per 100,000 were homeless. While numbers have increased, experts say it is because of increased identification of people who are homeless (The Portugal News, 2021).

In April 2022, Portugal’s Housing Minister Pedro Nuno Santos explained that the shortage of affordable housing would take years to fix due to years of low investment. Currently only 2% of housing is social housing, one of the lowest rates in Europe. (Macau Business, 2022).