Once again football has been used as a tool to unite nations, coming together to celebrate culture and talent around the world. From reading that first line you may have thought this blog was about the upcoming World Cup, however, prior to the World Cup commencing on 14^th June, the Street Child World Cup has just recently taken place in Moscow

The Street Child World Cup is not as well known as it should be, supported by Save The Children, the organisation was formed in a hope to use the power of football to raise awareness and tackle widespread stigma that is associated with street children around the globe. It is thought that through the event, countries, governments and communities will be inspired to better protect and respect street connected children.

At this year’s event, that took place through May, 23 countries competed against each other for the title of champions. However, it is more important to note that above all, these 23 countries competed together to bring justice and support for those children that suffer from life on the streets. Not only do these inspirational young people show their talent on the football pitch, but they also shared their wise words and opinions in A General Assembly, where one representative from each country spoke about their experiences on the streets. Captain of Team Nepal, Roshan shared his experiences with audiences that included FIFA World Cup winner Gilberto Silva. Roshan explained that himself and his teammates have been attacked as criminals, yet “today we have an identity as national players. We are the change, we are the voice.”

The Street Child World Cup has certainly been an exciting place to be in the past few weeks, with Brazil girls taking home the trophy in the ladies pool and Uzbekistan boys in a close final against Pakistan in the men’s pool. Our own England Girls team reached the semi-finals, but unfortunately lost out to Tanzania by just one goal. Centrepoint UK are a charity that help to form the Street Child Football teams here in the UK. Centrepoint work hard to provide shelter and support for those on the streets in England. As well as on the pitch action, the youngsters have been involved with art exhibition and inspirational talks.

If The Street Child World Cup is something that inspires you, find out how you can get behind the charity online following this link https:/www.streetchildunited.org/get-involved/volunteer/ and for footage from this years Cup, take a look at the organisation’s YouTube channel here https://www.youtube.com/user/StreetChildWorldCup . Together at Soccer Days and through sport we can continue to spread the message of unity and acceptance of all, no matter what circumstances.