Pitch Opening

Marcell Gardner was on hand as the Homeless World Cup were officially handed over by the Sports Trust

The Sports Trust, an independent organization that funds sports developments, officially handed over two street soccer pitches to the energized South African team on Saturday. Cape Town’s Grand Parade was filled with almost five hundred players from 48 nations, all with one goal: the area that will reveal the winning team.

There were minor bumps in the mats, but the Homeless World Cup organization team were already straightening out the glitches by the time the teams started arriving. The co-founder and president of The Homeless World Cup, Mel Young, said that the players are very grateful to the Sports Trust for their significant donation: “These pitches are Cape Town’s canvas for a phenomenal international sporting event that changes lives forever.”

“We at the Sports Trust are delighted to make such a wonderful contribution to the ‘Beautiful Game’, we’ve all come to love,” said Operations Executive of the Sports Trust, Anita Mathews. “We look forward to the day when some of the great names of the game will be playing against top talent groomed on these pitches.”

Arthur Adams, the South African team captain, received the pitches on behalf of his team with a song and dance routine. The two pitches will be donated to the National Street Soccer organisation following the event, to ensure the impact continues and reaches out to many more players across South Africa.

Statistics from the previous Homeless World Cup, in Edinburgh 2005, shows that over 77% of players change their lives forever as a result of taking part in this unifying event. They move on to find employment, move away from alcohol and drugs and look forward to an education.