Homeless players aim for extra time at world cup

They came; they scored, they scarpered. It may not have been a complete surprise for the hosts of the annual Homeless World Cup football tournament but it was still a little embarrassing for the Australian organisers.

At least 15 footballers from Zimbabwe and Afghanistan who travelled to Melbourne to participate in the games decided that they just did not want to play ball. At least, not on the football pitch.

Instead they walked off the field and into the immigration department, where they applied for visas to remain in the country.

A spokesman for the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship told The Times that it had received 15 visa applications from the international teams. She would not confirm their nationalities.

In addition the entire Liberian women’s team were also believed to have missed flights out of the country after the tournament closed and a Kenyan player was still missing, Australian newspapers reported.

The Homeless World Cup, which has been going for six years, offers hope to thousands of players, most of whom come from the most disadvantaged backgrounds in the world. It is aimed at raising awareness of the plight of one billion homeless people and to help them to improve their lives.

While some use it as a step up, others use it as a step out. This year 56 countries took part in the games and 400 visas were given out.

None has expired yet, according to immigration officals.

Organisers of the Homeless World Cup said they could not confirm the asylum reports. Steve Persson, the executive director of the event, said that he thought it would be naive “not to think that it was a possibility”. “This is an international event and this occurs on all international events, including the Olympics, including the Commonwealth Games, including World Youth Day,” he said. continues here

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