Seoul to host 2024 Homeless World Cup

Korea will host the 2024 Homeless World Cup in October next year as the tournament visits Asia for the first time in its 20-year history, the Homeless World Cup Foundation (HWCF) and The Big Issue Korea announced Monday.

Korea at the Sacramento 2023 Homeless World Cup. [HOMELESS WORLD CUP]

Korea will host the 2024 Homeless World Cup in October next year as the tournament visits Asia for the first time in its 20-year history, the Homeless World Cup Foundation (HWCF) and The Big Issue Korea announced Monday.

The Homeless World Cup is an annual football competition organized by HWCF that advocates the end of homelessness through football.

The tournament aims to improve the image of homeless people and “shape attitude towards the global issue of homelessness using the universal language of football.”

First started in 2003, the tournament has been held in multiple countries across the globe, including Mexico in 2018, Wales in 2019 and the United States in 2023. Teams of homeless people from various countries compete in the Homeless World Cup.

The 2024 Homeless World Cup in Korea will run for eight days in October in Seoul, with the exact location and dates of the tournament to be announced early next year.

“Seoul is the world’s 16th-largest capital city and South Korea is a wonderful place to visit with a huge football fan base and culture,” HWCF President and Co-founder Mel Young said in a press release Monday. “There has been significant interest for some time from our partner The Big Issue South Korea to host the Homeless World Cup, so we are pleased to confirm that the Seoul will be hosting next year’s tournament.

“Over the years we have proved that using the power of football can change lives and we remain committed to tackling and ending global homelessness.”

The Big Issue Korea — the Korean version of the UK-based Big Issue, a nonprofit social enterprise dedicated to providing services and to support homeless people — also looks to change the perception of homelessness in Korean society through the annual competition.

“Korean society often perceives homelessness narrowly in terms of policy and still views housing primarily as an investment product rather than a basic right,” The Big Issue Korea President Kim Soo-ryul said in a press release. “By hosting the Homeless World Cup — an international festival — we hope to draw citizens’ attention to guarantee housing rights and lay the socially supporting foundation for policy changes.”

The Homeless World Cup has over 70 member countries, including Korea. The number of participating countries in the tournament is different every year, but it has seen around 40 countries each year since 2006.

Which and how many countries will compete in next year’s tournament is yet to be announced.

Some countries like the United States, Italy and Brazil have made constant appearances in the tournament. As of 2023, Mexico is the winningest country in tournament history with four titles, having won in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019.

Korea has also competed in the event since 2010, but has not managed to win the title yet.

Korea at the Sacramento 2023 Homeless World Cup. [HOMELESS WORLD CUP]

The tournament runs with different rules to ordinary football, as only four players — three outfield and a goalkeeper — are on the pitch at any one time.

Each match also lasts for 14 minutes, in two seven-minute halves.

The Seoul 2024 Homeless World Cup will also see an entirely new field of players competing in the tournament, as the rules stipulate that players who participated in previous competitions are not allowed to compete again.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]