Quotes
“My old life doesn't exist anymore because of this.”
Tracey Ford, Australia
“If the world’s top government leaders could see and feel the union of excluded people from the whole world, they would see poverty and social exclusion differently and their decisions would be completely different.”
Claudio Bongiovani, Brazil
“It is a huge event that motivates everybody and raises our self-esteem, a great opportunity to get in contact with a new culture, and it is a really good experience for our lives. There is no words to describe it.”
Francisco Barbosa de Mello, Brazil
”The Homeless World Cup really changed my life and introduced me to a whole new culture and whole new world.”
Brad Stone, Canada
”Everybody should have the chance to experience something like this, and show the world what people are able to do. Thank you to the audience that day by day went to see us and supported us. That made us feel special.”
Luis Antonio Ramírez, Spain
To represent Ireland was a once in a lifetime experience for me.”
Thomas Fitzgeralds, Ireland
”It helped me get my life together. I’m more confident and secure. It’s the best thing that I’ve done.”
Dermot Haverty , Ireland
”Sport and my participation in the Homeless World Cup made me look at my life differently, made me more self-disciplined and self-controlled.”
Jaroslaw Jaworski, Poland
"Since my participation in Homeless World Cup I started to value the role played by sport in peoples’ lives. In my case, sport helped me to pull myself together and stand back on my own two feet."
Gregorz Kowalski, Poland
”It was a very good life experience, though it is more difficult for a woman to integrate into a team with so many male players. It was good to see other cultures and places and to understand that I am not alone with the fight against drug addiction and mental problems.”
Sarah Coelho, Portugal
”I feel like I am Portuguese and a real citizen for the first time in my life. It was almost like becoming a football star. I have discovered a new person, a better person inside of me.”
João Semedo, Portugal
”It is very important to raise awareness. So many people showed their support and hopefully with the help of the Homeless World Cup we can alleviate homelessness. It showed us that we can go on to do anything that we want.“
Steve Buchanan, Scotland
”It is a fantastic experience and now I have the feeling that I am somebody and that I belong to society.”
Frantiek Horszicza, Slovakia
”Football has given me an alternative to my troubled day to day living. I have something I really want to fight for. That improves my mental and physical condition. The best thing is you experience all this in a team. We were fighting together for one aim - that is something I have not been doing for a long time.“
Michael Omlin, Switzerland
”My participation in the Homeless World Cup gave me a lot of satisfaction and made me reflect on my life. It triggered a willingness to work on myself.”
Stephanie Lorraine Johnson, USA
