Shooting towards success, three YMCA residents have been selected from thousands of candidates across the country to play for England’s national team at the Homeless FA World Cup.
Taking place from 19th to 26th October in Santiago, Chile, Jahobi Maher from YMCA DownsLink Group and Casey Addison and Oliver Lovejoy from YMCA West and Central Herts will be joining England’s thirteen men and thirteen women who have faced homelessness in the past to participate in the annual global championship.
Over 500 homeless players from 49 nations will take part in the Homeless World Cup, which features 14 minute, four-a-side games on fast-paced street soccer pitches. Uniquely, the players are not picked according to their ability or age as with other England sports teams. Instead, the Homeless FA chooses players with a focus on positive attitude, interpersonal skills and improved physical health.
Soccer star Jahobi Maher, said: “This is all so unreal. I can’t explain it in words. If someone had told me three years ago that there would be an England kit with my name on it hanging up at the national squad’s training ground, I would not have believed them.”