2024 Homeless World Cup kicks off Saturday in Seoul

The 2024 Homeless World Cup kicks off at Hanyang University in eastern Seoul on Saturday with around 450 footballers from 42 countries competing at the annual football tournament.

The 2023 Sacramento Homeless World Cup [HOMELESS WORLD CUP]

The 2024 Homeless World Cup kicks off at Hanyang University in eastern Seoul on Saturday with around 450 footballers from 42 countries competing at the annual football tournament.

This year marks the first time that the Homeless World Cup has taken place in Korea, the first Asian country to host the annual tournament that was started in 2003 by the Homeless World Cup Foundation that aims to “shape attitudes toward the global issue of homelessness, using the universal language of football.”

The 2016 Homeless World Cup in Glasgow, Scotland [HOMELESS WORLD CUP]

The Korean organizing committee for the World Cup is led by a familiar face to Korean football fans: Former player Lee Keun-ho, who made 85 caps for the Korean national team and took the chairperson role for this year’s tournament local organizing committee.

“Due to a lack of publicity for the event, the organizing committee’s office has requested my involvement in external promotional efforts,” Lee said in a statement released on the Homeless World Cup website Tuesday. “Even among my acquaintances, there were very few who knew about the Homeless World Cup. Whenever opportunities arose, I appeared on broadcasts, gave interviews to media and participated in online fundraising campaigns to raise awareness.

“The true goal of this tournament lies in inspiring each homeless player and in changing societal perceptions to ultimately make a difference in the world. The participants who truly enjoy the tournament will be the real winners. I hope that, together with the spectators, we can all enjoy this as another World Cup.”

The tournament only had 18 participating countries in 2003 but has gradually expanded to include more contenders and has seen around 40 countries take part since 2006, in addition to adding a women’s competition in 2008.

Host country Korea has participated in the men’s competition since 2010. The country has yet to win the title in the men’s and yet to compete in the women’s tournament.

The Korean national team for the 2024 Homeless World Cup poses with their coaching staff during a launch ceremony at Roh Moo-Hyun Civic Center in central Seoul on Sept. 4. [NEWS1]

Mexico has been the winningest team in both events, with four titles in the men’s and eight in the women’s. The country’s men's and women’s are both ranked at No. 1 on the Homeless World Cup rankings.

But those stats are not entirely relevant to this year’s World Cup, as those who participated in previous competitions are not allowed to compete again.

The 2018 Homeless World Cup in Mexico City, Mexico [HOMELESS WORLD CUP]

Every participating country will feature an entirely new field of players, who are all required to have been homeless at some point since the previous year’s tournament.

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. It is, at its heart, street football, with the boundaries of the pitch marked by walls that players can bounce the ball off and rolling substitutions.

The tournament draw will take place on Friday, determining the groups and matches for the first stage of the competition.

Korea will play the first match of the tournament Saturday against a yet-to-be chosen opponent, followed by games from other countries later in the day.

The tournament will have an opening parade at 10 a.m. on Saturday and official opening ceremony at 10:30 to welcome the players, before the first game kicks off at 11:30.

The competition will last through Sept. 28, with both the men’s and women’s finals to take place on the last day.

Those who cannot watch the games in person can still catch all the action through FIFA’s streaming platform FIFA+ that will broadcast the tournament for the first time. FIFA have also provided material and equipment to support the tournament as part of a new agreement between the two organizations.

The Homeless World Cup Facebook page and its YouTube page are other options to follow the action.

Clarification: This story was updated to clarify that FIFA also provided material and equipment to the Homeless World Cup.

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