Every year, players from 70 countries convene for the Homeless World Cup, where teams duke it out in 4-a-side matches full of quickfire goals and lightning comebacks. (Spoiler: Mexico are the team to beat.)
It’s a chance for players to show their skills, be part of a team and ‘change their whole psychological view of themselves’, according to Homeless World Cup President - and Schwab Foundation social innovator - Mel Young. The football is embedded in a programme of support that aims to get players off the streets.
The Cup has been staged from Santiago to Seoul, drawn over a million participants and spectators and even inspired a 2024 Netflix film, The Beautiful Game, with Bill Nighy.
But the football itself is secondary: Young’s real goal is to ‘end homelessness’. In this video, he has some inspiring words for policymakers and the private sector.
