The Homeless World Cup (HWC) is an annual association football tournament organized by the Homeless World Cup Foundation, a social organization which advocates the end of homelessness through the sport. The organization puts together an annual football tournament where teams of homeless people from various countries compete.
The tournament was first held in 1999, and in 2008 it added a women's competition. From 2010 onwards, all tournaments have featured both men's and women's teams.
History
The Homeless World Cup organization was co-founded by Mel Young and Harald Schmied in 2001 to advocate for a global solution to homelessness. The first annual football tournament for homeless people took place in 2003 in Graz, Austria. Host cities since then have included Gothenburg, Edinburgh, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Melbourne, Milan, Rio de Janeiro, Paris, Poznań, Santiago, Amsterdam, Glasgow, Oslo, Mexico City, and Cardiff.
The 2019 edition was hosted by Wales in Bute Park, Cardiff, with Michael Sheen opening the tournament. The 2020 tournament had been due to take place in Tampere, Finland, but was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2023 tournament took place in Sacramento, California, and the 2024 edition took place in Seoul, Korea.
The international headquarters of the Homeless World Cup is located at 23 Union Street, in Edinburgh, Scotland.
National partners The Homeless World Cup organization operates through a network of more than 79 national partners around the world, supporting football programs and social enterprise development.
Members There are 75 Nations in October 2023, split into 5 regions:
Africa (14): Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe Asia & Oceania (12): Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Philippines, South Korea, Vietnam Europe (31): Austria, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, Wales North America & Central America & The Caribbean (6): Costa Rica, Grenada, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, USA South America (6): Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru
Format
Fields Since 2015 the tournament has been played on synthetic turf fields from Act Global.
Rules
Player eligibility Players must meet all of the following criteria: Be at least 16 years old at the time of the tournament Have not taken part in previous Homeless World Cup tournaments Also, must be any of the following: Have been homeless at some point after the previous year's tournament in accordance with the national definition of homelessness Make their main living income as a streetpaper vendor Be asylum seekers currently without positive asylum status or who were previously asylum seekers but obtained residency status a year before the event Currently be in drug or alcohol rehabilitation and also have been homeless at some point in the past two years
Participants A maximum of 4 players per team on the court: 3 outfield players, 1 goalkeeper, Plus 4 substitution players (rolling substitution allowed)
Tournament details The winning team gets 3 points. The losing team gets zero points. If a match ends in a draw, it is decided by sudden-death penalty shootout and the winning team gets two points and the losing team gets one point. Games are 14 minutes long, in two seven-minute halves. The field measures 22m long x 16m wide.
Broadcast FIFA+ broadcasts the Homeless World Cup.
Results Men #YearHostWinnersScoreRunners-upThird placeScoreFourth placeTeams12003 DetailsGraz, 2–111–51822004 DetailsGothenburg, 4–07–42632005 DetailsEdinburgh, 9–311–52742006 DetailsCape Town, 1–03–12652007 DetailsCopenhagen, 9–311–54862008 DetailsMelbourne, 5–46–44572009 DetailsMilan, 5–43–24882010 DetailsRio de Janeiro, 6–04–4(1–0p)4392011 DetailsParis, 4–37–148102012 DetailsMexico City, 8–56–243112013 DetailsPoznań, 3–3(1–0p)6–6(1–0p)46122014 DetailsSantiago, 5–26–6(1–0p)42132015 DetailsAmsterdam, 5–22–2(1–0p)47142016 DetailsGlasgow, 6–13–144152017 DetailsOslo, 4–35–345162018 DetailsMexico City, 6–36–540172019 DetailsCardiff, 5–17–7(1–0p)44182023 DetailsSacramento, 5–37–528192024 DetailsSeoul, 6–52–152202025 DetailsOslo, 4–348 Participating nations Nation2003(18)2004(26)2005(27)2006(48)2007(48)2008(45)2009(48)2010(43)2011(48)2012(43)2013(46)2014(42)2015(47)2016(44)2017(45)2018(40)2019(44)2023(28)2024(52) 12th 20th 1st 14th 13th 42nd 38th 28th 26th 33rd 26th 12th 22nd 24th 20th 7th 43rd 43rd 22nd 43rd 37th 45th 39th 43rd 39th 23rd 1st 2nd 8th 45th 33rd 15th 23rd 17th 21st 7th 10th 23rd 25th 40th 9th 16th 8th 14th 45th 41st 12th 34th 25th 37th 31st 40th 40th 6th 6th 2nd 13th 8th 7th 7th 6th 4th 15th 11th 16th 22nd 7th 3rd 1st 3rd 3rd 1st 4th 4th 2nd 1st 5th 13th 3rd 22nd 17th 12th 9th 17th 10th 12th 12th 6th 41st 27th 43rd 42nd 39th 45th 16th 35th 39th 36th 33rd 34th 36th 6th 8th 16th 20th 35th 40th 42nd 28th 40th 46th 27th 40th 41st 44th 23rd 34th 9th 2nd 5th 1st 4th 1st 7th 4th 4th 2nd 2nd 1st 25th 14th 19th 13th 20th 18th 15th 8th 11th 14th 11th 11th 5th 46th 45th 30th 22nd 28th 31st 33rd 23rd 25th 15th 15th 35th 36th 23rd 23rd 35th 27th 40th 30th 41st 39th 37th 6th 9th 7th 4th 32nd 17th 11th 23rd 26th 31st 16th 17th 20th 28th 21st 10th 13th 5th 2nd 6th 9th 13th 29th 6th 10th 15th 12th 38th 44th 31st 27th 22nd 30th 32nd 30th 31st 27th 18th 28th 32nd 31st 27th 42nd 41st 41st 37th 45th 28th 38th 24th 41st 14th 21st 26th 24th 21st 18th 11th 29th 29th 26th 16th 28th 26th 27th 33rd 14th 16th 22nd 16th 22nd 23rd 12th 21st 32nd 43rd 29th 33rd 18th 46th 30th 33rd 38th 26th 26th 20th 10th 3rd 6th 8th 35th 19th 35th 30th 24th 38th 31st 31st 32nd 22nd 41st 43rd 44th 36th 44th 28th 34th 27th 26th 25th 34th 18th 21st 44th 47th 24th 40th 37th 40th 15th 37th 20th 32nd 32nd 37th 28th 38th 36th 12th 23rd 20th 31st 38th 40th 21st 11th 29th 6th 32nd 3rd 18th 13th 45th 39th 39th 35th 33rd 30th 33rd 33rd 24th 18th 21st 25th 6th 4th 8th 10th 17th 7th 5th 10th 20th 17th 14th 17th 5th 17th 30th 9th 5th 6th 11th 24th 11th 16th 10th 9th 8th 17th 17th 5th 1st 1st 30th 14th 14th 25th 21st 19th 14th 24th 27th 43rd 23rd 24th 30th 21st 12th 48th 36th 27th 25th 44th 48th 2nd 9th 47th 9th 6th 5th 5th 4th 41st 27th 27th 36th 23rd 5th 3rd 26th 17th 19th 13th 18th 16th 8th 14th 14th 28th 15th 31st 8th 10th 7th 30th 24th 38th 48th 41st 18th 4th 26th 25th 7th 3rd 2nd 2nd 2nd 9th 1st 1st 2nd 1st 1st 2nd 32nd 19th 14th 29th 38th 35th 28th 30th 17th 20th 7th 14th 12th 3rd 12th 6th 14th 25th 20th 16th 16th 15th 34th 9th 8th 11th 37th 23rd 31st 40th 42nd 8th 5th 10th 4th 7th 31st 25th 24th 13th 12th 29th 29th 8th 23rd 47th 37th 16th 37th 26th 36th 36th 34th 30th 18th 29th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 42nd 25th 10th 25th 32nd 9th 13th 22nd 22nd 13th 37th 29th 25th 24th 13th 29th 38th 12th 3rd 2nd 3rd 2nd 13th 8th 13th 10th 23rd 15th 3rd 12th 18th 29th 15th 9th 9th 18th 10th 11th 7th 11th 2nd 4th 14th 5th 5th 6th 3rd 5th 6th 4th 4th 4th 26th 22nd 22nd 41st 33rd 7th 17th 6th 19th 11th 18th 13th 5th 12th 1st 13th 2nd 15th 7th 9th 19th 3rd 5th 19th 3rd 3rd 9th 3rd 19th 33rd 11th 4th 4th 33rd 1st 4th 12th 14th 1st 37th 12th 21st 16th 21st 25th 19th 24th 22nd 37th 18th 36th 10th 26th 24th 34th 24th 42nd 41st 32nd 26th 29th 21st 44th 45th 40th 35th 7th 8th 18th 27th 16th 21st 17th 11th 20th 21st 19th 5th 14th 16th 6th 7th 43rd 39th 43rd 46th 42nd 40th 42nd 42nd 39th 32nd 19th 15th 20th 19th 39th 32nd 46th 47th 8th 7th 22nd 40th 44th 44th 34th 34th 44th 42nd 42nd 38th 47th 34th 41st 37th 34th 18th 18th 24th 15th 38th 48th 38th 36th 28th 30th 39th 34th 42nd 38th 20th 26th 15th 20th 31st 21st 39th 10th 3rd 10th 11th 8th 1st 9th 8th 39th 13th 2nd 15th 10th 9th 13th 27th 46th 36th 29th 19th 20th 18th 28th 43rd 35th 23rd 35th 28th 27th 22nd 11th 17th 11th 17th 31st 33rd 10th 36th 32nd 39th 25th 35th 35th 16th 15th 25th 19th 28th 34th 17th 15th 26th 19th 14th 19th Street Soccer United 20th Union Gospel Mission 27th
Women #YearHostWinnersScoreRunners-upThird placeScoreFourth placeTeams12008 DetailsMelbourne, 7–1822010 DetailsRio de Janeiro, 7–31232011 DetailsParis, 4–31642012 DetailsMexico City, 6–21352013 DetailsPoznań, 4–11362014 DetailsSantiago, 4–31272015 DetailsAmsterdam, 3–11682016 DetailsGlasgow, 5–06–6(1–0p)1492017 DetailsOslo, 4–219102018 DetailsMexico City, 5–316112019 DetailsCardiff, 5–13–3(2–1p)16122023 DetailsSacramento, 2–07–412132024 DetailsSeoul, 5–23–1142025 DetailsOslo, 6–0
Participating nations Nation2008(8)2010(12)2011(16)2012(13)2013(13)2014(12)2015(16)2016(14)2017(19)2018(16)2019(16)2023(12)2024( ) 8th 4th 7th 5th 5th 5th 9th 8th 6th 10th 14th 19th 13th 1st 3rd 2nd 3rd 4th 7th 3rd 14th 12th 3rd 2nd 1st 2nd 3rd 2nd 3rd 4th 2nd 4th 4th 7th 8th 2nd 5th 11th 8th 6th 16th 6th 6th 9th 9th 7th 15th 5th 8th 10th 8th 12th 12th 10th 13th 5th 9th 10th 12th 16th 3rd 9th 6th 3rd 4th 4th 13th 5th 12th 13th 10th 6th 7th 7th 9th 7th 11th 4th 14th 1st 3rd 5th 5th 5th 4th 2nd 4th 2nd 6th 2nd 2nd 1st 1st 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 6th 11th 4th 6th 6th 11th 6th 10th 12th 16th 14th 15th 9th 8th 11th 3rd 12th 14th 7th 10th 11th 6th 7th 12th 11th 15th 8th 2nd 8th 3rd 3rd 5th 7th 4th 9th 11th 12th 12th 10th 15th 14th 7th 7th 10th 16th 11th 15th 10th 13th 9th 13th 8th 18th 12th 9th 5th 10th 8th 9th 11th 17th 13th 11th 8th 1st Street Football United 16th
Performance by country Men Team Titles Runners-up Third place Fourth place Top 4 finishes Top 3 finishes Top 2 finishes5 (2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2024)4 (2011, 2012, 2013, 2017)1 (2010)1 (2006)10983 (2010, 2013, 2017)1 (2016)3 (2009, 2011, 2012)3 (2003, 2014, 2015)10743 (2012, 2014, 2023)3 (2010, 2018, 2019)03 (2013, 2016, 2017)7442 (2007, 2011)003 (2004, 2005, 2008)5222 (2004, 2005)0002221 (2006)1 (2008)4 (2013, 2016, 2017, 2019)05521 (2003)1 (2004)002221 (2009)1 (2015)1 (2005)03321 (2008)00011102 (2005, 2007)3 (2004, 2006, 2014)055201 (2009)1 (2015)3 (2010, 2018, 2019)42101 (2014)0011102 (2003,2024)0011101 (2006)00111001 (2008)0110001 (2018)0110001 (2007)0110001 (2003)01100001 (2007)1000001 (2012)1000001 (2011)1000001 (2009)100
Women Team Titles Runners-up Third place Fourth place Top 4 finishes Top 3 finishes Top 2 finishes9 (2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024)3 (2010, 2011, 2014)001010101 (2014)3 (2013, 2015, 2017)3 (2012, 2016, 2018)1 (2019)8741 (2010)1 (2012)2 (2011, 2014)1 (2018)5421 (2008)0001111 (2011)00011101 (2016)02 (2013, 2017)31101 (2018)02 (2008, 2010)31101 (2008)0011101 (2019)00100001 (2013)2 (2014, 2015)310001 (2008)0110001 (2010)0110001 (2015)011001 (2024)1 (2019)01100001 (2011)1000001 (2012)1000001 (2016)100
Medals Men (2003—2023)
Women (2008—2023)
Media coverage Journalist Rick Reilly said "Homeless soccer turned out to be one of the best things I've covered in all my years. Seeing these people finally getting cheered, finally feeling some self-worth, was great. It was great to see these guys caring about something other than booze or where they're going to find food or where they're going to sleep – just getting to be regular people for once."
Several TV documentaries have been made tracking the participation of teams from homelessness to participating at the annual event.
In 2011, a 90-minute documentary called Hors-Jeu: Carton rouge contre l'exclusion was broadcast by Canal+ and focused on the Paris 2011 Homeless World Cup and Homeless World Cup itself and five national partners: Japan, Argentina, Palestine, France and Kenya. It was aired in France on 9 October 2011. The documentary was directed by Jérôme Mignard and Thomas Risch.