First practice with the team

The practice with the French female homeless team as if marked the real beginning of my project. While I had done a lot of organizational research and met with people who work for the enterprise, nothing gives a better sense of what the Homeless World Cup is than meeting with the people whom it is created for.

What I have come to appreciate the most is that football (I will refer to soccer as football) unites girls with difficult and distinct life experiences and brings them into a supportive environment where they become a part of a team with goals and dreams. While this might sound idealistic, it is easy to see during all of the girls’ practices.

Last Sunday

First thing I noticed was that practice began later than scheduled. I was told that it is really difficult to arrange for all the girls to arrive on time. Luckily, this provided me with an opportunity to speak with the team’s coaches, several of the girls, and one man who used to compete for the French team at the HWC in Copenhagen (2007). The coaches were curious about my interest and they were happy to provide someone dedicated to a similar goal with information and an opportunity to watch the practice.

I learned that while the girls’ sports abilities vary significantly, they are all excited about the game and ready to do their best. Their sports personalities differ as well. I noticed that while some girls are ready to jump into the game and demonstrate what street football has taught them, others feel vulnerable and insecure. Nevertheless, their motivation is equally strong, and they are determined not to give up. The possibility that they are selected to compete for the championship means that much to them.

The girls started practicing together in May, but looking at them and the way they encourage each other on the field makes me think they have always been a team.

How was the team assembled?

This difficult task was assigned to two women – one who has been working for the HWC on the request of its local leader for several years, and the other one who has just started working for the enterprise in May. Finding “the right” girls was not easy. The championship is in France this year but it usually takes place abroad. This means that the girls need to have documents and be able to obtain a visa. In a homeless person’s life this can often pose a problem.

One approach that the two women employed to find the girls was to contact existing organizations helping homeless women. They could range from shelters to religious organizations to employment bureaus. The organization would explain to the girl about the championship, and if the girl agreed to participate, the two women would go and meet with her to provide her with more information. The team formed slowly – the girls joined one by one. But as the word spread amongst organizations and friends of the homeless women, enough girls were ready for practice in May.

The practice

The girls trained for quite some time under the hot sun. My friend Mikael who came to help translate for me and I watched the practice and talked to the other people who had come – a journalist, organization members, and one man who has done research on the HWC since 2007! As part of his graduate field studies, he had followed the French team each year before, during, and after the championships in each of the countries where they took place. He interviewed both the girls who got to compete, and those who were not selected. He seemed like a book to me that contained all the answers I was going after. And he speaks English! I am meeting with him tomorrow to learn more about his research. I will follow up with you afterwards.

After the practice, the team had lunch together to which we were invited. The girls were curious about Mikael and me and willing to talk to us. During that first meeting, I did not want to ask any personal questions. Instead, the conversations were centered around sports, the championship, and the girls’ dreams. A lot of the girls have previously played street soccer or some other type of sports. Others just like the idea of being part of a team and competing for such an important international event.

I asked whether Mikael and I can join the team for the next practice, and we were allowed to do that! Exciting Tuesday follows next.