Airdate: 2008 Homeless World Cup

SBS screens the 2008 Homeless World Cup beginning on Sunday live at 5pm.

Designed to create awareness about the plight of the homeless, there are teams from 56 countries around the world who will compete at Melbourne’ Federation Square.

Tonight at 10pm SBS also screens the doco Street Soccer Zimbabwe, which follows the Zimbabwean Street Soccer team. Coached by Samuel “The General” Mandaba, a former drug dealer and gang member, the team of footballers battle homelessness, separation from family, unemployment, HIV/AIDS, food shortages and a life of hopelessness to represent their country at the Melbourne 2008 Homeless World Cup. In the Hands of the Gods will follow  at 10:30pm.

Press Release:

Sunday 7 December from 5pm

Teams from 56 countries right across the globe will descend on Federation Square to participate in the Melbourne 2008 Homeless World Cup from 1-7 December. Tournament media partners, SBS will broadcast their flagship football program, The World Game LIVE from Melbourne on Sunday 7 December at 5pm.

Melbourne 2008 Homeless World Cup Ambassadors, Les Murray and Craig Foster will host The World Game LIVE from Federation Square featuring the sixth Homeless World Cup final and highlights from the women’s final. Commentator, David Basheer will call the final and Mariana Rudan will report on all the action during the week-long tournament.

The Homeless World Cup was launched in 2003 and is the annual international street football tournament that unites teams of people who are currently or have previously been homeless and excluded from society. An estimated 100 million people worldwide are homeless (United Nations Commission on Human Rights, 2005) and every night 100,000 Australians are homeless with half under 24 years old, 10,000 of these being children (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2003).

The Homeless World Cup provides a once in a lifetime opportunity for the homeless to represent their country in sport, educate the public on the universal issue of homelessness and change their lives forever.

”Football to me transcends colour, race or creed. I have witnessed football’s influence and impact on the lives of people from all around the world and I am humbled to witness the positive power of football on our community and its quest to raise awareness of homeless issues around the world,” said Les Murray.

As a pre-cursor to the Homeless World Cup on Tuesday 2 December at 10pm, SBS will show the inspirational documentary Street Soccer Zimbabwe, which follows the Zimbabwean Street Soccer team. Coached by Samuel “The General” Mandaba, a former drug dealer and gang member, the team of footballers battle homelessness, separation from family, unemployment, HIV/AIDS, food shortages and a life of hopelessness to represent their country at the Melbourne 2008 Homeless World Cup™ and their goal of bringing home the trophy.

Football feature In the Hands of the Gods will follow Street Soccer Zimbabwe at 10:30pm. This documentary follows five English football-freestylers as they set out hoping to busk their way from New York to Buenos Aires to meet their idol Diego Maradona

Catch all the video highlights from the Melbourne 2008 Homeless World Cup online at sbs.com.au/theworldgame.