Zim to grace Homeless WC

to 14 and this year’s tournament has already attracted 72 countries, including Zimbabwe.
And the organisers of the 2012 Homeless World Cup in Mexico yesterday announced that the draw for the tournament will take place on September 4 in Mexico City.
Mel Young, the president of the Homeless World Cup, will be there on the day, joining representatives from the local organising committee.
This is the first time that the draw will be held so far in advance of the tournament and the organisers said this was meant to generate media interest in the build-up to the October 6 to 14 event.
“Holding the draw early also means participating teams will know well in advance who they will be playing in the group stages so they can do their homework on their opponents,” Young said yesterday from his organisation’s headquarters in Edinburgh, Scotland.
And Zimbabwe will be among the 72 countries that will go into the hat during the draw on September 4 in Mexico City.
Zimbabwe were recently invited to send a team to this year’s Homeless World Cup, making a welcome return to this annual tournament after they failed to send a team to the last three events in 2009, 2010 and 2011 due to financial constraints.
The Zimbabwe Youth Achievement Sports for Development, the Homeless World Cup partners in this country, have already selected nine players that will take part in this year’s tournament in Mexico City.
Petros Chatiza, the YASD project co-ordinator, said yesterday that they have already stepped up their preparations for this tournament and this includes fund-raising activities for the trip to Mexico in October.
“We have come up with a revised budget and we need something in the region of US$55 000 and this includes US$35 160 for the air fares of a Zimbabwean delegation of 15 people.
“The budget also caters for the players out-of-pocket allowances as some of our accommodation costs will be catered for by the hosts nation — Mexico.
“In fact, the organisers of the Homeless World Cup in Mexico have indicated that they will pay for the accommodation of 10 members of our team while we have to cater for the expenses of five other members of our team.
“So, we are appealing for any kind of assistance — in cash or kind — so that we will be able to send Team Zimbabwe to this year’s Homeless World Cup.
“This is not a money-making venture but an opportunity to change other people’s lives,” Chatiza said.
At this year’s Homeless World Cup, Zimbabwe will be represented by nine players who were picked from Harare’s high-density suburbs of Mbare and Hatcliffe.
The team also includes one player from Mutoko.
The nine local homeless players who were selected for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity are Joseph Mashamba, Talent Sanyangore, Moreblessing Gwauya, Tinashe Manjeeso, Abel Mavhura, Romeo Mungazi, Tashinga Makumbe, James Yolamu and Naison Jojo.
The team will be under the guidance of coach Farai Mweta of Hatcliffe while Chatiza will be their manager.
Chatiza said the homeless players were picked after a “thorough selection process” by the Homeless World Cup Team Zimbabwe.
The Homeless World Cup has seen nine worldclass football tournaments take place across the world in such places as Graz, Austria (2003), Gothenburg, Sweden (2004), Edinburgh, Scotland (2005), Cape Town, South Africa (2006), Copenhagen, Denmark (2007), Melbourne, Australia (2008), Milan, Italy (2009), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2010) and Paris, France (2011).
Since 2003, national representation has grown from 18 to 72 national teams in 2012, spanning all five continents of the world.
There are one billion homeless people in the world today and the Homeless World Cup exists to end this so that everyone has a home.
The tournament has been designed to promote social integration through football and create fresh, inventive solutions to end homelessness and poverty worldwide.
To date, an estimated 200 000 homeless people have benefited since the Graz 2003 Homeless World Cup and there are now football programmes working with homeless people all year round in more than 70 countries.
Over 70 percent of the participants experience a significant life change — they come off drugs, alcohol, get jobs, homes, education, training, become football players, coaches and social entrepreneurs.