Nigeria and 50 other countries will compete in this year’s Homeless World Cup tournament, a street soccer event, scheduled to take place from July 8-15 in Sacramento, United States.
The 18th annual tournament will be hosted by the Homeless World Cup Foundation in coordination with California State University, Sacramento and US Homeless World Cup partner Street Soccer USA.
The event will kick off with a welcoming address on July 7, while the opening parade and games will kick off on July 8.
In a letter to Nigeria team manager Yomi Kuku, Zoë Hopkins, manager of international partnerships, World Cup Foundation for the Homeless, expressed her delight at welcoming Nigeria to Sacramento, California.
He further expressed his gratitude for the important life-changing work “that you (Kuku) are doing in your country to end homelessness and social exclusion.”
Since making their first appearance at the 2006 edition in Cape Town, South Africa, Nigeria have reached three quarterfinals, and at the 2009 edition in Milan, they crashed out in the semifinals, where they lost to eventual winners Ukraine, but he left. to win the UEFA Fair Play Trophy.
The Homeless World Cup was co-founded by Mel Young and Harald Schmied in 2001 to advocate for a global solution to homelessness.
The 2020 tournament was supposed to take place in Tampere, Finland, but was canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mel Young, President of the Homeless World Cup, noted that soccer could positively affect lives and expressed his commitment to ending homelessness.
“Since 2003, we have shown that the power of soccer can change lives, and through our annual tournament and partnerships around the world, we are committed to tackling and ending homelessness.
“Our annual tournament has been sorely missed by everyone at the Homeless World Cup, our global Member Countries and loyal fans, and we are delighted, excited and encouraged to announce together with our partner Street Soccer USA that the state capital California, Sacramento and California State University, Sacramento will host the 2023 Homeless World Cup.”
