Last eight revealed as group stages end
By George Thomson
DAY FIVE of the 2008 Homeless World Cup saw the end of the Secondary Group Stage, which determines which trophy each team will compete for over the final weekend.
The eight quarter finalists who will scrap it out for the Homeless World Cup trophy have now been decided, with Afghanistan the only team remaining unbeaten at the tournament. However, even their aura of invicibilty came under scrutiny on day five, as they laboured to narrow wins over France and Lithuania.
Elsewhere, hotly tipped Brazil scraped …
Uganda’s guardian Angel
By Matthew Price
WHEN Angel Taka is in form, Uganda tend to do well. In Wednesday’s 4-0 win over Australia’s hastily assembled side, she scored a hat-trick.
When Uganda outclassed Cameroon at Yarra pitch on Thursday, Angel was at the heart of things again. She scored twice and chased back to make crucial tackles.
“I don’t play in any particular place,” she says. “To keep me strong, I run around. I can run in this position, and this, and this …”
Before the game Angel was awarded the Nike Fair Play Award, given to …
Africans, Aussies march on
By Matthew Price
AFRICAN and eastern European teams flexed their muscle, and the tournament saw a record 20-0 result on day three of the 2008 Homeless World Cup.
The day’s 49 matches brought the preliminary group stage to a conclusion, setting the stage for the secondary group stage, in which the tournament is split into two sections.
Four groups will play off for the Homeless World Cup, the Dignitary Cup and the City Cup (Melbourne) – while four groups will do battle for the Host Cup (The Big Issue), the Community Cup and …
Spiderman: Meet Australia’s Vannie
By Andrea Fox
STRETCHED across the goal, limbs spread like a spider, Cambodia’s goalie is trying to stem the tide. Wearing a bright yellow No. 1 guernsey, Vannie wipes sweat from his face and with a grimace resumes play. The ball comes right back at him. It’s three minutes into the match and already Ghana are 7-0 up.
Sunlight streams onto the Melbourne Pitch beside the Yarra as the 2008 Homeless World Cup enters its third day.
On the field, Ghana are putting on a soccer clinic, skillfully attacking and aggressively defending every …
Home teams claim first victories
By Finn Bradshaw
DAY two of the 2008 Homeless World Cup saw the Australian men’s and women’s teams notch their first victories of the tournament and two 15-goal hauls.
The Street Socceroos sent the capacity crowd wild at Federation Square Stadium in the afternoon with victory over Rwanda, 4-3. In a thrilling match, former jockey Stephen Maloney snatched victory for the home team with a strike in the final minute.
The Australian women’s team had an equally heart-stopping …
The Melbourne 2008 Homeless World Cup Kicks-off!
It’s the day many of us have been waiting for ever since The Big Issue put in the bid back in 2006 to host the 2008 Homeless World Cup in Melbourne: The 1st day of action at the Melbourne 2008 Homeless World Cup!
The team draw was announced last night at the welcome function at Melbourne University, the location of the players’ village. It’s an exciting moment for the teams as they not only get to mix and mingle …
Street Socceroos Farewelled
Excited farewells kicked off in Adelaide on Wednesday at the final Street Soccer Program training session before Toni, Hamid, Will and Dave left for Melbourne. Farewelling the players, Emma Wirkus from the Australian Matildas and Adelaide United Women’s Soccer Team along with Airton Andrioli and Richie Alagich from Football Federation South Australia (FFSA) praised the passion and commitment of the players who are using sport to overcome challenges in their lives.
“It’s an absolute buzz to wear …
Scottish team are welcomed to Australia by Melbourne Victory FC
Homeless World Cup reigning champions, Scotland, received a warm Australian welcome today as they enjoyed a training session under the watchful eye of the Australian national league’s Melbourne Victory FC coach and players at Melbourne’s Olympic Park Stadium.
Melbourne Victory Coach, Ernie Merrick, and player, Grant Brebner – who both hail from Scotland – joined their Captain and Melbourne 2008 Homeless World Cup ambassador, Kevin Muscat, in welcoming the Scotland team to Melbourne.
Scotland is one of 56 …
It all starts here!
The Homeless World Cup tournament phase has begun; the teams have started arriving and pitch construction has commenced at Birrarung Marr.
The English team stepped off their long-haul flight on Saturday morning and headed straight for Healesville Sanctuary to meet some local wildlife.
They will be spending their first week in Melbourne visiting local schools involved in the Homeless World Cup Adopt-a-Team program, and training for the week-long soccer tournament.
The Scottish team, captained by Stephen Docherty, arrived late on Sunday night, and …
900 volunteers receive their training
900 volunteers received training for their role at the Melbourne 2008 Homeless World Cup last week. The three-hour sessions covered a huge amount of information including an introduction to the Operations team and their roles and what to expect from a Homeless World Cup. After the general introduction the volunteers broke away into smaller role specific training groups. The training sessions were run at Melbourne University where we were able to take full advantage of the lecture theatres made available …
