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With the World Cup come and gone, many of you football lovers out there will be looking for your next fix of the beautiful game. Look no further than the 19 September, when the Homeless Football World cup kicks off in Rio de Janeiro.

The tournament is organised by the Homeless World Cup Foundation, whose aim it is to change the lives of those people living on the edge of society, using football as a tool. The idea is a great one: football is one of the simplest sports to play, and all you really need is a ball and something to it kick at. If you quickly assumed that Brazil with its love of football and poverty would be the dominant homeless team, then you would be wrong: a number of different teams have taken out the coveted title, including Afghanistan in 2008.
If you’re thinking “Why should I care about some homeless dudes playing football?” shame on you: these guys are worthy of every bit of attention, given the fact that they have no home (hence the name ‘homeless’) and are squarely on the outside of society. It takes a lot to be able to function in society let alone play any type of organised sport at an international level.
 Street Footy New Zealand says that all the New Zealand representatives from the 2008 tournament are now off the street and either in full-time employment or tertiary education. It’s nice to see sport having that kind of effect on people. It really does demonstrate the power of sport. 
Ideas like this are what makes sport so great. It’s nice to think that football is not just for millionaires and the All Whites, but that it can actually make a real difference in people’s lives. Cricket is another sport that has been used for social good. The people who were running the Afghani refugee camps in Pakistan at the start of the American invasion needed something that would keep the men busy with something and stop them from entering extremist groups. Cricket was the answer and now the Afghani team is competing on the world stage. The idea that sport can make a positive change for society is in no way new; a lot of money is spent by professional teams in giving back to the community. This idea, however, is completely different.
It’s true that not all sports would be able to take on the role of helping homeless people. I am sure that water polo just wouldn’t quite have the same effect, especially since it’s played underwater. So next time you see someone living on the street you might be looking at the next superstar of street footy. The New Zealand team now is now beginning two months of training which includes both football and life skills, in the hope they can better their last cup where they took home the award for best newcomer. I know I’ll be watching intensely.