The idea sounds simple: you bring together a group of homeless people and give them a shared goal – in this case, the desire to win an international soccer tournament. The result: many of them also succeed in finding their way back to a normal life – and some even turn sport into a career. This simple idea has become reality – and a very successful one to boot. The Homeless World Cup is now a global event that takes place each summer in a different city around the world. The tournament uses a unique, street soccer format, which is fast, fun and entertaining. In March 2001, representatives of dozens of street papers from all over the world came together in South Africa to discuss how to draw more government, public and media attention to the growing problem of homelessness. There are one billion homeless people in the world. It is a global issue that affects all nations. The Homeless World Cup has a vision for a world where everyone has a home.

18 months after the initial idea for the Homeless World Cup, the first international football tournament for homeless and excluded people kicked off in Austria in 2003. 144 homeless players from 18 countries. The first ever Homeless World Cup match was another outing for one of football's most intense rivalries: the Netherlands versus Germany. The anticipation for the clash had been building since the draw was made but, in the end, the Dutch proved too strong, running up 14 goals without reply. At the closing ceremony every player received a medal and each team received a trophy. The biggest cheer was saved for Austria as they lifted the brand new Homeless World Cup Trophy. The teams joined together to celebrate their achievements as the fans chanted "We Are the Champions" and said goodbye to the players they had adopted as their new sporting heroes. The Homeless World Cup story had begun.

A BALL CAN CHANGE THE WORLD There are one billion homeless people living in our world today. The Homeless World Cup exists to end this, so we all have a home, a basic human need. The Homeless World Cup is an annual, international football tournament, uniting teams of people who are homeless and excluded to take a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent their country and change their lives forever. It has triggered and supports grass roots football projects in over 70 nations working with over 30,000 homeless and excluded people throughout the year. The impact is consistently significant year on year with 73% of players changing their lives for the better by coming off drugs and alcohol, moving into jobs, education, homes, training, reuniting with families and even going on to become players and coaches for pro or semi-pro football teams.

Er hat ein großes Herz. Es braucht seit seiner Pubertät so viel Platz, dass seine Lunge klein geblieben ist. ,,Deswegen haben die mich in der DDR damals nicht zum Hochleistungssportler gemacht, obwohl ich ziemlich fit war", sagt Hinz

56 nations united for the biggest Homeless World Cup ever, the first Women's Homeless World Cup with Zambia taking home the trophy, 50,000 fans visiting Federation Square for the Finals day, Afghanistan crowned champions, and a legacy of 30 street soccer programmes across Australia.

Milano 2009 48 nations united and enjoyed visits from Lewis Hamilton who took a pitstop on the way to the Monza Grand Prix to meet the players; Marco Materazzi popped down too and so did the FIFA World Cup Trophy. An important foundation was laid in Milan, Italy as the Homeless World Cup demonstrated football can unite and breakdown prejudices. Ukraine were crowned champions.

Beim Homeless World Cup – der Weltmeisterschaft im Straßenfußball – schied das deutsche Team der Wohnungslosen zwar in der Vorrunde aus. In der Trostrunde konnte das Team aber anschließend einen Pokal einheimsen. Und Giovanni Gonzales (links) wurde zudem als bester Torhüter des Turniers ausgezeichnet.

PLAYERS Women's Homeless World Cup For the first time in the history of the Homeless World Cup , a Women's Cup will be included at the Melbourne 2008 Homeless World Cup, the international football tournament changing lives. Eight nations and 80 women from Cameroon, Colombia, Ivory Coast, Kyrgzstan, Uganda, Zambia, Liberia and Paraguay will compete to become the first time champions at the event to be held from December 1-7 at Federation Square and Birrarung Marr.