Getting in Pole position after the Seoul 2024 Homeless World Cup
|The Polish team made history at the Seoul 2024 Homeless World Cup, travelling with a women’s team for the first time. Image: Anita Milas
By Rebecca Corbett
We spoke to Polish Coach Marlena Mikołajczyk a few months after the Seoul 2024 Homeless World Cup to find out how the players were doing and look back on their time in the Korean capital.
The Seoul 2024 Homeless World Cup was always going to be unforgettable for Marlena Mikołajczyk, the team she was coaching were making history – it was the first time Poland had travelled with a women’s team to the Homeless World Cup. The only time they’d previously fielded a women’s team was when they hosted the Poznan 2013 Homeless World Cup.
Marlena expertly led her team and set an example for others at the competition. She was recognised for her kindness and left the tournament with her team finishing in 3rd position and with the title of Best Women’s Coach.
|Marlena was awarded the Best Coach Award at the Seoul 2024 Homeless World Cup. Image: Anita Milas
But there was a lot more to it than their final standing - the men’s team finished 11th overall in the Seoul 2024 Homeless World Cup Men’s competition and third in the second tier.
“For the team it was something special,” Marlena explains. “For the players most of them have never been outside the city or spent time outside the country and it was another continent. It was something very, very big. It was amazing for me as a coach.”
Watching Poland at the Seoul 2024 Homeless World Cup, you could easily see the comradery and friendship within and between the squads. In the year running up to the tournament, each month the men and women’s teams met up for training weekends, where they’d play football and get to know one another – the result, Marlena explains, is that the players became close friends.
Marlena’s unique approach as a coach also helped the squad to form friendships and become closer, the Polish women’s secret warm-up – which Polish player, Karolina let us in on, is that before each game, the players would all individually hug each other and their coaches and support staff.
“It’s like we’re one organism”, Karolina said. “We play together – if you are good, the whole team is good.”
However, the friendships that were formed at the Homeless World Cup, weren’t only within the squad, they extended to the 37 other nations and to their local team guide volunteer Sarah, who is still in touch with many of the players.
Returning home after the Homeless World Cup was hard for many of the players, with them left wondering, ‘What next? What is my goal now?’ Marlena explained that for the players those first few days and even weeks for some, were really difficult. However, she was pleased to say that when many members of the team got together in November for a regional tournament, everyone was doing well.
|Some of the team were reunited at a regional tournament in November. Image: Stowarzyszenie Reprezentacja Polski Bezdomnych
“All of them were happy and said ‘now it’s ok – I know what to do. I have a new job, I have a new home. I have new goals in life. It’s really good in their lives.”
Many of the players have made significant changes since returning from the Homeless World Cup, Karolina and Justyna, from the women’s team are now living together and have both have found new jobs. While Viktoria and Amelka, have both joined a futsal team and an 11-a-side club. For Kasia, she’s catching up on the work she missed while in Seoul. The women’s team have already planned another meet up in the new year and are still messaging and speaking nearly every day.
For many of the players, while their experience of playing at the Homeless World Cup might be over, they have a new outlook which lives much longer than the eight days of the tournament.
For many it’s not only how they see themselves, but how they’re seen in their communities and in their local teams. Where they were once players, they are now seen as leaders.
“Some of them were never leaders – at the Seoul 2024 Homeless World Cup, some of them were a little in the shadow, but in their local teams in Poland they are the most important person in the team.
“It’s great to see how they talk with their other teammates, they talk about the Homeless World Cup – how they should try it, how they could play and make their dream come true.”
Marlena adds, “the best thing is that everything is good in their lives and that’s a very positive thing.”
The Polish team have already registered their interest in bringing both men and women’s teams to the Oslo 2025 Homeless World Cup, so it’s clear that while it might have been a first for Marlena leading a women’s team at the Homeless World Cup, it certainly won’t be the last and many more players like Karolina, will have the chance to make their dream a reality.
Poland is represented by Stowarzyszenie Reprezentacja Polski Bezdomnych (Polish Homeless National Street Soccer Team Association).
They host the annual Wroclaw Cup with neighbouring countries travelling to compete and hosted the Homeless World Cup in Poznan in 2013.
Words: Rebecca Corbett
Photos: Anita Milas, Stowarzyszenie Reprezentacja Polski Bezdomnych