Concord Times (Freetown)
Sahr Morris Jr
2 December 2008
It was another historic moment in Melbourne, Australia as yesterday marked the Kick-off of the 2008 Homeless World Cup.
Teams of homeless and marginalised people from across the globe received a huge welcome in Melbourne with a colourful street parade before the Australian team took to the pitch for the first match against Austria.
The Premier of Victoria, the Honorable John Brumby said, "There has never been a more important time to focus our attention on people in our community,"
"Welfare and charitable organizations are already experiencing an increase in demand for their services and with the current economic climate; it's only going to increase. The Homeless World Cup empowers people to turn their lives around."
Founder and president of the Homeless World Cup, Mel Young while declaring this year's tournament open called on Australians to get behind the Homeless World Cup and experience the power of sport to change lives.
"Today, one billion people in our world are homeless and that's not sustainable," Young said. "We have to come together and do something about it. This is a very special day for the players and the teams. This is a very important moment in history right now."
"It is a great honour to declare the sixth Homeless World Cup open. Thank you Australia."
After entertainment from the One Fire Dance Group, Melbourne school children and the Choir of Hard Knocks, the Australian Street Socceroos and Team Austria took to the pitch for the first match of the tournament.
Since the first tournament in 2003, the Homeless World Cup has triggered grassroots soccer programs in over 60 nations, engaging 30,000 homeless players all year round. It has a mission to engage one million players in the benefits of sport in 75 nations by 2012.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Concord Times. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
