Homeless World Cup breaking new ground
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
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UEFA's social responsibility partner the Homeless World Cup has launched an innovative project to raise funds, aiming to build a virtual stadium with room for one million people.
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UEFA's social responsibility partner the Homeless World Cup has launched an innovative project to raise funds, aiming to build a virtual stadium that would seat one million people. The stadium would be the world's largest of its kind, and people are being asked to buy a seat to gradually fill up the virtual arena.
The Homeless World Cup, a national-team tournament for homeless people, first took place in 2003, and UEFA has backed the tournament since its inception as part of its portfolio of social responsibility activities. The 12th edition has just been staged in Chile with the host nation scooping both the men's and women's trophies, the former by beating Bosnia and Herzegovina in the final.
The Homeless World Cup is a unique pioneering social enterprise that exists to end homelessness by using football to energise homeless people. The event inspires national grassroots projects and has helped thousands of people to change their lives.
Now, co-founder Mel Young is asking people to support this latest project for the virtual Home Stadium to raise valuable funds for a competition that creates an unforgettable experience for participants from around the world – and gives them the pride and inspiration to go forward and find new positive energies.
"We are building a virtual home for our fans and supporters," said Young. "10,000 seats will get us on the road – but one million is the aim.
"It's been more than a decade since we started the Homeless World Cup, and over that time what an impact we have made," he added. "What started as a simple idea has grown to become a global movement which touches the lives of over 100,000 people every year. Now I want to make it even bigger, with even more impact, as we unveil the next step in our incredible journey."
Players and supporters of the competition also joined forces to convey UEFA's message of Respect in a video during the latest edition of the competition in Santiago. The 2015 Homeless World Cup will be staged in the Netherlands.
