Street football the saving grace for homeless people
After almost three hours on the pitch, he walks off smiling, noting with satisfaction that it is he, not they, who calls an end to a practice session that has already gone over time.
The players fall in slowly behind him, feigning annoyance at his instructions to pick up the pile of coloured bibs on the sideline and the markers dotting the pitch.
“You mean we have to clear up after ourselves, too?”
Mick smiles back with the pleasure of a football fan who has seen his beloved sport played with heart and skill. That’s how the veteran FAI coach sees the practice session. Bunch of good lads playing a good game. Magic.
It isn’t how the players are usually viewed. Off the pitch, in an often blinkered world, their most defining characteristic is that they are homeless.
The first Homeless Street Soccer World Cup takes place next month in Graz, Austria’s second largest city, where teams from 18 countries will compete for the inaugural trophy.
Among them will be the newly selected Irish squad: Mark Bisset, aged 17, striker; Michael Byrne, aged 17, striker; Michael Murphy, aged 18, forward/midfielder; Peter Farrell, aged 18, forward; Patrick Murphy, aged 20, goalkeeper; Mark Hughes, aged 27, defender; Martin Callaghan, aged 36, defender, and Peter White, aged 37, centre-forward.
It’s a novel idea, dreamed up by Graz to mark its reign as European City of Culture 2003, and with its all-amateur, all-volunteer ethos, it is about as far removed from the likes of the World Cup 2002 spectacle in Japan and Korea as it gets.
Soccer began on the streets, or whatever muddy, dusty or sandy stretch of ground served for public gatherings 3,000 years ago when the first balls of sewn hide were kicked around ancient civilisations in Asia and Europe.
No fine-combed grass surface, no giant scoreboards, no electronic timekeeping, no fat pay packets and, probably, no offside rule.
It’s how the game continues to be played in sidestreets, playgrounds, vacant lots and dirt roads by kids young and old the world over.
In Graz, the rough and tumble of street surfaces have been replaced with specially designed pitches with all the precision and polish a professional athlete could wish for.
But the organisers have gone to the streets to find their teams, seeking players who are homeless, residing in a hostel or working as a streetpaper vendor.
Here, Issues magazine, Focus Ireland, Fr Peter McVerry and the numerous hostels that are shelter to the homeless, put the word out. Eight players were needed and, despite the limitations of bush telegraph, 45 turned up for the first selection session.
There was minor chaos, recalls Issues magazine editor Sean Kavanagh, although he wishes everyone was so enthusiastic in their response.
O’Neills have sponsored some of their gear but, with only a month to go to the first game, the voluntary organising team are critically short of funding to get the team to Graz and provide expenses during their stay.
“It’s not exactly a sexy issue, homelessness. Sponsors are reluctant to come aboard. Everyone says their money is tied up, but I have a sneaky feeling that people don’t want their product associated with homelessness. Some businesses are trying to promote an upmarket image and homelessness doesn’t always fit in,” he says.
Homelessness certainly isn’t the average citizen’s ideal lifestyle choice but, as Kavanagh has learned, there is a fine line between bright ideals and grim reality.
“There but for the grace of God go I. Looking at these lads, there’s some very good players. With a bit of luck, who knows where they might be. Everyone needs a helping hand but it’s the roll of the dice who gets it.”
The dice rolled badly for Patrick Murphy. The quiet 20-year-old is shy about stating it but he always dreamed of being a professional goalie. His sister, Carol, makes up for his bashfulness. “He always says to me he’s going to be a footballer and then he’s going to buy me a house,” she says proudly.
Patrick has Shay Given’s gloves, given to him by the Ireland keeper when the two squads met up at a training session last week, and he carries them in a hold-all which contains much of his possessions.
His brother, Michael, 18, is also on the team and though he confesses he used to see himself as a rugby pro, he has adapted well to soccer. Surveying his skinny frame, he laughs: “I don’t get hurt as much.”
The siblings are three of seven left alone and homeless when their mother died three years ago, nine years after their dad’s death. The three youngest are in foster care but the older ones struck out for themselves.
They move between hostels and the flats of friends, and the only constant thing in their life is the dole and their own camaraderie.
There is extended family but they don’t like to talk about them. Except Carol. “They’re too posh for the likes of us,” she says in a Buckingham Palace accent.
Preparations for Graz have livened up their days no end. Patrick hopes to get drawn with Brazil or England. Michael picks Spain, Sweden and the US. “They have women on their teams,” he laughs.
The most senior player, Peter White, was 35 before he became homeless, an experience steeped in irony given that he was working in a hostel at the time.
A former all-Ireland U14 gymnastics champion, he took off to Australia after leaving school and had a series of jobs, mainly in pubs and security, before returning to Ireland nine years ago.
He has just moved into a flat and hopes it’s a sign his luck is about to change. “When you’re homeless, nobody wants to know you.
"You get thrown out of parks, you get put out of shops, you get moved on wherever you are. Landlords don’t want to know; they won’t take rent allowance in case the taxman finds out. You can’t do anything,” he says.
Graz has given him something to look forward to and for the first time in two years, he has real plans for his future although he won’t reveal
what for fear of jinxing them.
Providing something to look forward to is just one of the attractions of the tournament. “It’s about raising awareness of homelessness and giving a sense of discipline to those affected by homelessless,” says Sean Kavanagh.
“It’s hard to be focused on anything when you don’t know where you’re sleeping tonight. It’s hard to put a plan in action.”
On the pitch at least, a plan is taking shape. “We didn’t all know each other before this, but we come together as a team in the training,” says Michael.
They’ve even gotten over their differences in team loyalties. Man United are firm favourites, but there a few Liverpool fans in the mix and even the lone Rangers supporter has been accepted.
They’re gaining acceptance for themselves along the way. “Some of them have been in touch with family since this all started,” says Sean Kavanagh.
“They have something to be proud of and that makes it easier to get in contact. It makes people look at them in a new way which is an important part of what all this is about.”
A fundraising night with comedian Dave Young and surprise guests and personalities takes place in the Submarine Bar in Dublin on Wednesday, June 18.
The event will be hosted by TV3’s Aidan Cooney and tickets at 10 are available at the door.
Issues magazine has a shirt signed by the Irish soccer squad for auction. Bids and all other offers of help can be made to the Issues office on 01-8735137.
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