MONTREAL — Fabrice Mugabe passes the ball past the opposition defender to Jean-Philippe Duré, who strikes it into the gloves of the goalkeeper, an intervention employee on the Montreal homeless shelter the place each males are staying.
MONTREAL — Fabrice Mugabe passes the ball past the opposition defender to Jean-Philippe Duré, who strikes it into the gloves of the goalkeeper, an intervention employee on the Montreal homeless shelter the place each males are staying.
For the boys on the indoor discipline in Montreal’s Plateau neighbourhood, it was the primary probability to indicate off their expertise to recruiters, who’re fielding a group to symbolize Canada at an annual worldwide soccer match in Oslo, Norway, in August — the Homeless World Cup.
After Wednesday’s observe session, Mugabe, 35, stated he felt “drained, exhausted, winded however above all wonderful as a result of it has been a very long time since I have been out.”
“I’m tapping into something I haven’t tapped into in a long time,” he stated, relishing his shot to doubtlessly swimsuit up for Canada.
The Canadian Avenue Soccer Affiliation, which organized Wednesday’s coaching session, is a non-profit that makes use of sports activities to assist folks experiencing homelessness and different types of social exclusion to reintegrate into society. It reached out to town’s homeless shelters, inviting the weak to participate within the lovely recreation.
The affiliation’s aim is to recruit gamers from totally different provinces to take part within the Homeless World Cup, run by a charity referred to as the Homeless World Cup Basis.
After the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Mugabe misplaced not solely his job at a warehouse, but additionally the roof over his head. “I kind of went through a rough patch like everybody else, and without work I didn’t really have anywhere to go,” he stated. However with the assistance of Maison du Père, a males’s homeless shelter in Montreal, Mugabe has a brand new job and is placing cash apart so he can transfer into an residence.
Bob Humphreys, Quebec program director on the Canadian Avenue Soccer Affiliation, oversaw Wednesday’s observe. Initially from London, England, Humphreys stated his group organizes soccer matches to provide homeless folks the chance to construct neighborhood and get better from hardship.
“It’s about putting smiles on faces … putting an ounce of positivity back into the mindset,” he stated. “It’s not about the talent. It’s not about the soccer. It’s more about the social side and it’s about these guys building social skills, reintegrating back into society.”
Humphreys stated he had anticipated about seven gamers on Wednesday, however solely two unhoused males turned up. The day’s frigid temperatures made it troublesome for members to journey, he stated, including {that a} truck belonging to Previous Brewery Mission, one of many different Montreal shelters concerned in this system, had a flat tire and could not transport gamers.
Duré, 49, unhoused since 2021, says he confirmed up on Wednesday to indicate off his expertise on the pitch. “Frankly, I feel very good,” he stated after observe. “I have soccer talent and want to prove myself.”
Samuel Drolet-Bégin, intervention employee at Maison du Père, stated the soccer program permits caseworkers and the unhoused folks they work with to attach exterior the shelter atmosphere.
Hossam Khedr, Canadian Avenue Soccer Affiliation CEO, stated a complete of eight gamers shall be recruited for a blended women and men’s group. For now, the affiliation is recruiting in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, nevertheless it plans to increase this system to Canada’s different provinces for future Homeless World Cup tournaments.
For the match in August, every group will discipline 4 gamers — one goalkeeper and three outfielders — on the pitch, which is smaller than the common dimension FIFA soccer discipline. The match is hosted by a distinct metropolis every year; earlier editions had been hosted by Paris and Rio de Janeiro.
Gamers should be not too long ago unhoused or briefly housed, Khedr defined. Nevertheless, some folks with fastened addresses, together with refugees and people who battle with psychological well being points or addictions, may additionally make the minimize. The choice committee will select folks it believes will most profit from travelling to Norway and collaborating within the match.
Ed Kiwanuka-Quinlan, the road soccer affiliation’s director of operations in Ontario, stated collaborating in soccer was a lifeline to him when he discovered himself homeless over a decade in the past in Brampton, Ont. Unable to take care of his mom’s demise and trauma from the Ugandan civil warfare, he turned depressed and tried to take his personal life.
Kiwanuka-Quinlan was in a shelter for 2 weeks when a member of one other avenue soccer affiliation requested him to kick a ball round. He initially turned the supply down, however ended up taking part in and feeling the “euphoria of belonging to something.”
Every profitable move and aim was a trigger for celebration that gave him the hope and vitality to start getting his life again on observe. After being homeless for 2 years, he represented Canada on the 2012 Homeless World Cup in Mexico.
“It was the simplicity of being invited … and that’s the transformative energy of sport … being made to really feel such as you matter.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Jan. 25, 2025.
Joe Bongiorno, The Canadian Press
