Rotary passes a ball
that’s changing the world
Now, Rotary has gone one step further and become
the first major organisation to fund the Football Box.
Rotary clubs have already funded nearly 20 Football
Boxes at £500 each, which will provide opportunities
Right:
for homeless players to become coaches, trainers and
A Football Box
instructors and to get homeless people off the streets
training session
and onto the football field in 2010. The Rotary Club
in action, Slum
of Dundee was the first to step up, closely followed by
Soccer, Nagpur,
Musselburgh, Northwich Vale Royal and Arbroath.
India 2009
The Football Box training programme was piloted
successfully in India in the summer of 2009. Among
the participants was Pascall Yellamati, who played in
the India Homeless World Cup squad in Melbourne
2008. Pascall explains: “The Homeless World Cup has
completely transformed me. I now feel a useful part of
the society and I want to give something back to my
community”. The challenge now is to secure funding
to take this programme to as many homeless people as
possible.
Scottish social entrepreneur, Mel Young, who has
pioneered fresh new solutions to the global issue of
homelessness for over 15 years, set up the Homeless
otary has become a major supporter of a new
R
World Cup in 2003. Young is also co-founder of The
initiative – the Football Box. Pioneered by the
Big Issue Scotland and International Network of Street
Homeless World Cup, the Football Box trains
Papers. The Homeless World Cup continues to put the
and equips homeless players to become football
players at the centre of the solution, giving them the
coaches and role models in their community, helping to
chance to change their lives. The impact is consistently
get more homeless people off the streets and onto the
profound and significant, with over 70% of players
football field to change their lives.
changing their lives for the better by coming off drugs
For the last two years, Rotary clubs around the
and alcohol, moving into jobs, education, homes,
world have supported the growth and development of
training, reuniting with families and even going on to
the Homeless World Cup, the international football
become players and coaches for pro or semi-pro football
tournament that uses football to change the lives of
teams.
homeless people around the world. There are now
The Homeless World Cup supporters include
football programmes for homeless people in over 70
UEFA, Nike, UN, Manchester United, Real Madrid,
nations and over 30,000 of them benefited from pre-
Ambassador Eric Cantona and international footballers
tournament training and trials for the Milan 2009
Didier Drogba and Rio Ferdinand, and now Rotary. The
Homeless World Cup in September.
Rio 2010 Homeless World Cup takes place in September.
In Melbourne, Rotary clubs contributed to the 900
For more information visit
www.homelessworldcup.org.
volunteers who formed the production backbone for
Robin Tatler, President of the Rotary Club of
the Melbourne 2008 Homeless World Cup and hosted
Innerleithen, Walkerburn and Traquair and Fundraising
a barbecue evening for homeless players from 56
Manager for the Homeless World Cup Foundation would
nations. In India, the Rotary Club of Nagpur is working
like to speak to your club about how you can support this
with our partners, Slum Soccer, providing food and
project. Please contact him on 0131 652 8194 or email
prizes for young people involved in a football coaching
robin@homelessworldcup.org.
programme.
10 ROTARY TODAY FEBRUARY 2010
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