Erik’s Goals for Oslo 2025
As the business end of the tournament came into view, a big Norwegian presence - all 6ft 4in of him - loomed large in the bleachers to cheer on his national side. Former Spurs goalkeeper Erik Thorstvedt, who won 97 international caps for Norway, wasn’t going to miss out on the festival of footy happening in his city.
“I live nearby, it’s football, it’s the Homeless World Cup and it’s a big thing for Oslo,” he enthused. “I believe in the principle behind it - being physical is very important for mental health and so is belonging, being part of a team. One of the worst things we can experience is losing contact with our tribe – the team spirit is really one of many good aspects of the whole event.”
From a technical point of view, what does Erik think of the standard of football being played across Rådhusplassen this week?
“It’s a hybrid kind of football,” he states. “In Norway, handball is quite popular and the way they play is quite similar - not so much of the ball flying around, you’re either defending or attacking.
“It’s a very tactical sport and, from what I’ve seen, the football here is very physical. In the corners the struggle is really on and the Danish team, for example, had some big lads, making it difficult to move in those spaces.
“Some of the players here are so good. Winning is fine but the main point of being here is about the togetherness and having a great experience together.”
One team which has really caught his eye this week, however, has been Northern Ireland, playing today [Saturday 31 August] in the final of the Salvation Army Cup against Bosnia & Herzegovina. “It was really raining when they played – I don’t think Norway train when it’s really raining! – but it was perfect weather for Northern Ireland, and bitterly cold.
“I remember George Best – he was from Belfast – they say he got his first pair of full length trousers when he was 15. They grew up just with shorts!”
Being part of a team, as Erik keeps returning to, is at the heart of what Homeless World Cup is all about and he harks back to his playing days with Tottenham Hotspur.
“There was an American film that came out at that time called Hoop Dreams which followed three young kids trying to make it, and their single mothers working three jobs trying to make ends meet. In the end, none of the players made it.
“It was heartbreaking, and a lot of reviews said it was horrible to see on screen. I saw the film and, to be totally honest, it did nothing to me because I’ve seen this 100,000 times. It happened all the time when I was playing.
“Kids came in from Scotland, Northern Ireland, they were churned through the system and spat out the other side. Now there’s quite a bit of attention on the demands of the top players, which is fair, but for me, the much bigger issue is all the players who don’t play enough matches. There are hundreds of players who hardly ever play – they’re not deemed good enough. They’re maybe a professional on the lowest rung but they never play.
“For me, mentally and everything, that’s a much bigger problem – if you ask a player if they want to play six or sixty-five matches a season, every player says sixty-five, bring it on. But to feel in a position where you’re not valued in any way, that’s tough for a footballer when you’re just cast aside.
“I think there should be a system that helps players so the clubs don’t just wash their hands and say ‘that’s rid of him’. You need to have a system that looks after them and makes sure they get to move on to a good place.”
That’s certainly an issue of which Homeless World Cup is aware, too, with a steady number of players who have been cut by clubs going on to struggle with their physical and mental wellbeing, being excluded from their tribe and falling through the gaps in society.
Inclusion, dignity and respect is something that resounds loudly with Erik.
“One of the main things for me is that we give these homeless people a face and a name because they are looked down upon in a way which is totally wrong.
“People who have succeeded in life often think it’s because they have this brilliant ability – they’re born with something nobody else has – which is b******t. It’s just coincidence whether life goes this way or that way and we must be aware of that.
“A year ago, for example, I spent five days in hospital with an issue that turned out to be nothing, I was totally fine. You’re in a bed, in a ward, just like the guy next to you and all the hierarchy between you and your fellow patients disappear.
“I was in a room with an architect and a guy who’d been a junkie for 20 years, who’d robbed banks, who’d been beaten up regularly by his father. He warned us in advance that we were unlucky to be in a room with him because, at night, he’d be screaming ‘No dad, please please…’ It was horrible.
“We walk past these people in the street and we know nothing about them, what have they been through in life. People have the most incredible, horrendous stories to tell yet it’s so easy to judge.”
As we embark on finals’ day of this tournament Erik has a message for all our Homeless Wortld Cup players.
“It’s just great that you’re all here - and stick together. We’re so much stronger when we’re together in a team.”
Written By Isobel Irvine, Photos By Anita Milas