Tim za socijalno uključivanje i smanjenje siromaštva

Ever since Nikoleta Kosovac, an activist of Liceulice, heard about the Homeless World Cup, she has been promoting it as an idea for social inclusion of marginalised groups and she plans, together with the Liceulice team, to join this initiative.

Mel Young, co-founder of The Big Issue, and Harald Schmied, editor of the Megaphon, the Austrian street newspaper, arrived at the idea to organise the World Cup for homeless persons in late 2001. Two years later, Graz was the first host city of the tournament, gathering 18 national teams. The next year, out of the 141 players that had participated, 31 were already in full-time employment.

“Beating Homelessness through Football” is the slogan of the competition, which will have its tenth edition this year. The tournament will include 56 men’s and 18 women’s national teams (read more at: http://www.homelessworldcup.org)

The goal of the Homeless World Cup is to create a different social influence on the marginalised groups and bring the public attention to the issue of poverty around the world, as well as to promote the positive effects of football as a collective game. The players develop a feeling of belonging to a team and of the necessity of being a team player. Persons excluded from the life of a community develop new prospects and build fresh, healthier attitudes to life and self-esteem.

The full text, as well as the author’s several other publications, are available at:

www.socijalnoukljucivanje.gov.rs