THE Big Issue Namibia football team will compete in its fourth Homeless World Cup in Copenhagen, Denmark, which starts this weekend.

The competition runs until early August and will see more than 50 teams from various countries taking each other on.

The Big Issue Namibia was voted the friendliest team in 2005 in Scotland and become a surprise team by knocking out two-times defending champions Italy in Cape Town, South Africa, last year.

The street paper Big Issue Scotland hosted the Homeless World Cup 2005 in Edinburgh and The Big Issue South Africa hosted the same event in 2006 at the Grand Parade in Cape Town.

Denmark and Australia won the bid to host the event in 2007 and 2008 respectively.

The Homeless World Cup is an international event that uses the positive power of football for raising issues of homelessness and poverty worldwide.

The Homeless World Cup is an event of the INSP, the International Network of Street Papers, and is supported by the United Nations Commissioner for Sport, Adolf Ogi, the City of Gothenburg, Real Madrid, Manchester United and the international sport brand Nike.

The concept behind street papers is to create opportunities for socially excluded people to attain self-sustainability through social development programmes and by selling their own newspaper directly on the streets.

Today the INSP comprises more than 80 members in 30 countries - ranging from South Africa to Russia, from Germany to the USA.

Social integration through sport has become a successful strategy in many countries.

The unifying passion for football has a unique ability to shift social borders.

Being backed by job, housing and integration programmes, sport itself becomes the means to create new chances for people in crisis situations.

The first Homeless World Cup took place in July 2003 in Graz, ustria.

The participating teams of 18 countries were formed by homeless people and by persons making an income from selling street papers.

It was a tremendous success.

More than 20 000 spectators watched the 109 games; the atmosphere was filled with camaraderie between the teams and they played thrilling matches with a competitive spirit.

More than 90 accredited journalists and 25 TV stations made the World Cup a major media event.

Every participating team is obliged to have at least two street soccer tournaments to select the team of eight players, accompanied by a team manager and coach.