homeless World Cup 2006

Few people will have ever heard of Nkosinathi Mkhonono. And for a large portion of his life, few people would have cared if he lived or died. But today, Mkhonono’s life is truly having an impact on both his country and its people. For most of his life, Mkhonono has been part of a culture of homelessness - surviving on the charity of others and struggling to remain positive in a situation where money means freedom.

However, all that changed when Mkhonono travelled from Umtata to Cape Town in an attempt to search for work and, ultimately, change his fortune. At first, he found only an unforgiving environment, where he struggled to survive and was forced to fade into the background. Then, Mkhonono was offered a lifeline – a job as a vendor selling The Big Issue, a newspaper sold by homeless people, assisting them in generating their own income. It was while selling the magazine that he heard about the Homeless World Cup soccer tournament, and decided to chase his dream. This simple tournament turned out to be exactly what Mkhonono needed to help change his life for the better. The same can be said for hundreds of homeless people across the world.

The Homeless World Cup was originally launched to use the power of sport to try to combat poverty. The concept was founded by social entrepreneurs Mel Young and Harald Schmied in Cape Town in 2000, and since then, a number of dreams have been realised.

This year, the tournament is being hosted in South Africa for the first time, with picturesque Cape Town as the setting for all the exciting action. The games will take place at the historic Grand Parade – the site of former President Nelson Mandela’s first speech after he was released from prison. Organisers are expecting as many as 100 000 spectators to attend the games. Mkhonono will be acting as assistant coach to the South African team, and, using his experience, will attempt to make a difference in the lives of his compatriots.

The tournament’s prosperity is evident. Some 77% of players who were involved in the 2005 event have changed their lives forever, with 38% gaining regular employment and 40% having improved their housing situation. Twelve players have also been coaxed into making a living from football.

\Mkhonono proudly counts himself as part of the 77% and believes that others can also benefit from their experience at the tournament. He explains how he felt when he hit rock bottom and was not able to supply his own food while living with family in Cape Town: “After the family relative left, the ex-husband started mistreating me and verbally abusing me as I was not contributing anything towards food. After a while I could not handle the treatment and decided to build my very own small shack and lived by getting food and assistance from neighbours. I felt sad and hurt because of my situation because I could not find a job and I was being a burden to people.”

While selling The Big Issue, Mkhonono read that a team was being selected to play at the Homeless World Cup. After trying out for the team, he was selected and went to the 2004 Homeless World Cup in Gothenburg. “Before going to the Homeless World Cup I had always played soccer back home in the Transkei and when I came to Cape Town I joined a local soccer club and we played matches against other clubs in the location.”
Mkhonono explains that the tournament brought a new sense of pride into his life. “I was very, very happy and excited when I found out that I was going to the Homeless World Cup - especially because it was going to be my first time on a plane and also the first time to step out of the borders of South Africa. To see how confident the other teams from the other countries were, motivated us to also be very confident about the way we played soccer. But it was also interesting to see that there are other ‘homeless’ people in other countries as well. After the Homeless World Cup, I felt like a very, very important person, my confidence was high, and I believed I could achieve many more things in my life.”

And so he has. Having been given the confidence to search for assistance, Mkhonono opened his own carpentry business, supplying built-in cupboards. In addition to that, his housing situation has significantly improved as well. Although he is still living in a shack, he has running water and electricity, and is on a waiting list to receive a RDP (Reconstruction and Development Programme) house. He is also working at getting his driver’s licence.

According to Mkhonolo, his entire attitude and approach to life have been transformed. “I know change does not happen overnight, but I have realised that I am much better off than when I first came to Cape Town. So now I will work harder to achieve my goals.” Given South Africa’s poverty problem, if this year’s tournament manages to help a few more like Mkhonono then it would have done more than it set out to do.