Pictured: Team England for Oslo 2025. Frankie (Coach), Hassan, Prince, Kheidi, Abdullah, Craig (Manager), Matthew (Coach), Profirio, Martin, David, Ash, Yasin (Coach)
Runners up in the 2024 Seoul Homeless World Cup, Team England are back with hopes of winning the tournament for the first time.
Taking place in Oslo, Norway from 23rd – 30th August, the tournament brings together over 500 players experiencing homelessness in Homeless World Cup Member Countries for 8 days of 4-a-side fun – all in the name of creating community and changing perceptions of homelessness around the world.
To date, more than 1.2 million people have participated across 200 clubs, with the competition serving a dual purpose: to harness the unifying power of football and to combat the pervasive isolation that often accompanies homelessness.
For the second year running, Street Soccer London has assembled a multi-talented England team with players picked not only for their footballing abilities, but also for their dedication to training and being an integral part of the team.
These exceptional footballers were selected from a diverse pool of participants who attend weekly drop-in sessions held across the boroughs of Hackney, Southwark, and Lambeth, and partner organisations across the North of England.
Street Soccer London has a lot to shout about too. Since their inception in 2020, the organisation has run 1,687 sessions, and supported over 1,000 people through 35,956 attendances – and over 3,000 of support.
With an average IMD decile of 2.4 in London – which refers to the way the Index of Multiple Deprivation ranks areas in England by their level of deprivation (1 being most deprived, 10 being least deprived) – their players have experienced a 72% reduction in homelessness since joining. One in five players now have secure housing, almost a third less are living in temporary or unstable accommodation and the charity has noted a huge 94% reduction in rough sleeping. Players who participate in their Street Soccer programmes are nine-times less likely to be involved in the criminal justice system.
Outside of housing, 94% of players say they now feel part of a community, with a further 58% sharing they feel less isolated.
With 78% now hopeful for the future, it’s no surprise that almost all players (97%) believe Street Soccer is truly unique.
David Duke MBE, Founder and CEO of Street Soccer shares: “We’re really excited for this year’s Homeless World Cup, to be returning to Oslo and to give our players representing their country a once in a lifetime experience. I know from captaining Team Scotland in 2004 what amazing impacts the Homeless World Cup can bring. From my own lived experience of homelessness, it was the tournament and my coach turned mentor who really sparked the positive change in my life, and inspired me to found Street Soccer in 2009.
Over 15 years later, many of our staffing team have been former players at the Homeless World Cup, including this year’s England Manager and Head Coach, continuing their legacy for Street Soccer and now mentoring future changemakers.
Last year was Street Soccer’s first year representing Team England at the tournament in Seoul making it to the final so we’re hoping the team can go one better this time.
The tournament is a unique event, a festival of football that brings together people from different cultures and backgrounds, but all with a shared lived experience creating bonds that transcend language and nationality.
The 20th edition of the tournament will be another great chance for people to come together, see the amazing opportunities available to them and take another step on their path to positive change”.
A proportion of the support which Street Soccer provides is to players seeking asylum and this is reflected in the unique make up of Team England, with 5 players from England, 1 from Portugal, 1 from Sudan, and 1 from Nigeria.
The HWC team benefits from the wealth of experience of their managers, Craig McManus and Frankie Jumes. Craig, who captained Scotland at the 2016 Homeless World Cup in Glasgow, and Frankie, who led England at the Home Nations, are both dedicated leaders with lived experience bringing invaluable expertise to the squad.
According to the Homeless World Cup Foundation, the global homeless population stands at a staggering 100 million, with an additional 1 billion people lacking adequate housing.
You can follow the team’s progress online via Street Soccer London’s website and Instagram.
The team is sponsored by Cuvva, The Ripple Effect, The Burness Paull Foundation, David Yarrow Family Foundation and The Hunter Foundation.
Transportation, food and accommodation for players and coaches is arranged by the member partners and Homeless World Cup Foundation. Admission is free, with over 168,000 spectators in attendance and millions watching over a livestream. Games are streamed for free on the Street Soccer London Facebook Page, Homeless World Cup Youtube and the Fifa+ App.
