Skip to main content

NIGERIA AND 50 OTHER NATIONS TO PLAY IN SACRAMENTO, UNITED STATES

Nigeria and 50 other countries including host United States of America will be featuring at the 18th edition of the annual Homeless World Cup tournament.



The Sacramento 2023 event will be delivered by the Homeless World Cup Foundation in coordination with California State University, Sacramento and the Homeless World Cup’s US partner – Street Soccer USA.

The Street Soccer tournament will take place from 08 July to 15 July 2023 with a welcome event on the evening of Friday 07 July, then the opening parade and games will start Saturday 08 July.


Team Nigeria poses for photograph at Homeless world cup match

In a letter to Team Nigeria Director, Mr Yomi Kuku, Zoë Hopkins International Partnerships Manager Homeless World Cup Foundation expressed delight at welcoming Nigeria to Sacramento, California and further expressing gratitude for the important and life-changing work “that you are doing in your country to end homelessness and social exclusion”.


Yomi Kuku, Team Nigeria Director.

Nigeria has an exemplary record playing in the Homeless World Cup with 3 quarterfinal appearances and 1 semi-final which was in 2009 in Milan, where Nigeria lost to eventual winners Ukraine, but going on to win the “UEFA FAIR PLAY TROPHY”.

Yomi Kuku flank by former FIFA President Sepp Blatter and other dignitaries

It will be recalled that Nigeria made a maiden appearance in Cape Town, South Africa in 2006.

The Homeless World Cup was co-founded by Mel Young and Harald Schmied in 2001 to advocate for a global solution to homelessness. The first annual football tournament took place in 2003 in Graz, Austria. Host cities since then have included Gothenburg, Edinburgh, Copenhagen, Cape Town, Melbourne, Milan, Rio de Janeiro, Paris, Mexico City, Poznań, Santiago, Amsterdam, Glasgow, Oslo and Mexico City. 

Most recently, the 2019 edition was hosted by Wales in Bute Park, Cardiff, with Michael Sheen opening the tournament.

The 2020 tournament had been due to take place in Tampere, Finland, but was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mel Young, Homeless World Cup President and Co-Founder, said: “Since 2003 we have proved that the power of football can change lives and through our annual tournament and our partnerships across the world, we are committed to tackling and ending homelessness.

“Everyone at the Homeless World Cup, our global Member Countries and our loyal supporters have deeply missed our annual tournament, so we are delighted, excited and encouraged to be in a position to announce alongside our partner Street Soccer USA that the state capital of California, Sacramento and California State University, Sacramento will be hosting the Homeless World Cup in 2023.”

California State University, Sacramento President Robert Nelsen said: “The University’s role as tournament host is another illustration of its commitment to building deep and meaningful connections in our community and beyond.


“I am proud to that we will host the Homeless World Cup in 2023, and I look forward to welcoming athletes from around the world to our campus. This event will reimagine the conversations surrounding the global issue of homelessness while transforming the lives of the athletes as well as the spectators.”

Lawrence Cann, Street Soccer USA Co-founder and President said: "Hosting the Homeless World Cup for the first time in the United States is a signal of Street Soccer USA's ambition to drive social impact through soccer at scale and from the bottom up.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

$300,000 Browns Nigeria Donation: Transparency Questions Trail Flag Football Leadership in Nigeria.

Fresh concerns have emerged within Nigeria’s flag football community following reports that the Cleveland Browns, through their Browns Nigeria initiative, allegedly donated up to $300,000 to support the sport’s development in the country, alongside additional monetary contributions and equipment support including footballs, flags, and cleats from some NFL players. Rather than inspiring confidence, the alleged donations has raised serious questions about governance, accountability, and control within Nigeria’s flag football structure. Stakeholders are asking: Does the funding truly exist? How was it managed? Who supervised its allocation? And why is there increasing tension among Browns Nigeria officials over control of the sport? Observers believe the fierce struggle for dominance may be linked to the influence such a large financial contribution would command. More troubling, however, is the absence of official clarification. All efforts to reach Browns Nigeria officials for confirmat...
Post a Comment
Read more

Showtime Flag Football Unveils Ambitious Plans for Nationwide Expansion

In the aftermath of the electrifying 2025 Showtime Bowl in Lagos, Azeez Amida, Chairman of Showtime Flag Football, has revealed immediate plans for a nationwide expansion of the league. The sold-out event, which marked the end of the season, drew fans, families, and sports enthusiasts from across the city and showcased the league's potential for growth. Azeez Amida, Chairman of Showtime Flag Football Amida announced plans to expand the league to six states by the end of 2026, signaling a new era for flag football in Nigeria. "We're expanding. By the end of next year, we aim to be in at least six states. The goal is to spread Showtime Flag Football across Nigeria and introduce more communities to this incredible sport," Amida said. Beyond geographic expansion, Amida shared his long-term vision: creating a viable professional pathway for aspiring flag football players within Nigeria. "We want our players to dream big to the point where they can say, 'I want to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nigeria need to adopt symmetry approach across the national teams- coach Michael Nsien

Former Nigerian youth International Michael Nsien has highlighted the need for Nigeria to adopt a uniform pattern across the National teams for smooth transition of players and to achieve a visible success. Speaking to journalists on NSM from his base in the USA, Coach Nsien who is the head coach of FC Tulsa in the US Division two League maintained that the u-17 and u-20 teams should be a conduit for the senior national team. Micheal Nsien, FC Tulsa Head coach "The youth teams is meant to be that way (a conduit for the senior national team). You have to have culture that buys in or accept a job based on that quality of transition. My intention are to be successful and to win games 100% but also, how do we transition players to the senior national team base on our principle, our style of play, the discipline line that we want to play within and our playing methodology. I am not sure that cohesion is in the Nigeria football setup, from top to the bottom, that the coaches...
Post a Comment
Read more