Pt. 1 – The Opening Day, by Nigel Whitbread

(all photos Nigel Whitbread)

The opening day of a week-long festival of football began in earnest with a parade through the streets of Cardiff to announce the start of the 17th annual Homeless World Cup.

500+ players from over 50 countries left the Principality Stadium, sandwiched between local samba band Samba Galaz and Wonderbrass, playing a mixture of jazz, pop, ska and funk. The players paraded themselves with the sights and sounds of carnival through the city centre and the gates of Cardiff Castle to the tournament venue in Bute Park.

The Welsh men’s and women’s teams lead at the front of the parade alongside patron of Street Football Wales and actor of Good Omens Michael Sheen, who made it his personal mission to the Capital of Wales.

The parade ended at Pitch 1 inside the tournament venue, where all the player’s gathered for the opening ceremony. Speeches were given by Michael Sheen and Homeless World Cup co-founder and president Mel Young.

The actor’s passionate speech opened the ceremony, rousing the crowd and players with words of builders, dreams, and song “Our men’s and women’s teams are known as the dragons and the warriors. But you are all warriors. And now warriors become dragons. I urge you this week to spread your dragon wings wide. To take off into our Welsh skies. And proudly. To fly. Dragons and warriors all. Welcome to Wales.”

While Mel Young, in addressing the players, said: ‘You are the heroes. The world is watching you now. You are the ambassadors for people who are back in your own country in the same position. We can demonstrate to the world that we can play football in the way it should be played…If we all work together, do a little bit and build together, we will create a world where there’s no homelessness at all. I declare the 17th Homeless World Cup open.”

Following the welcoming words Only Boys Aloud took to the pitch to sing a number of songs including Calon Lan and Anfonaf Angel, before the Welsh national anthem was sung by Shellyann Evans, winner of BBC signing show, All Together Now.

There were mixed fortunes for Wales in the first 2 games of the tournament.

The opening match was Wales men versus Denmark men – The men’s team came from 6-3 down to draw 6-6 with a last second equalizer against Denmark but eventually lost to a sudden-death penalty shootout.

Following Wales men’s first game of the tournament, Wales women faced off against Northern Ireland women. The final result was Wales 7-1 Northern Ireland, with Wales gaining confidence with every goal scored and running away with the match.

Win or lose, both teams joined hands at the end of every match and charge towards the supporters to show their thanks and appreciation. All teams compete every day until the finals on the last day.

The event, which works to tackle homelessness and marginalisation, will play out at Bute Park in Cardiff city centre from 27 July to 3 August inclusive.

Pt. 2 – Monday and Tuesday set the tournament alight, by Ben Woolhead

From the kick-off, let’s get one thing straight: the Homeless World Cup is not merely a vague exercise in raising awareness of the scale of the problem. After all, awareness hardly needs to be raised – only the wilfully ignorant, surely, would refuse to acknowledge that homelessness is a worsening issue. On the contrary, the event is focused on going further and actively seeking solutions: on building the participants’ self-esteem and giving them opportunities; on encouraging attendees to pledge to act with compassion and respect towards others; on generating the momentum necessary to campaign successfully on issues such as social housing, mental health and substance abuse; on prevention as well as cure.

As ambassador Michael Sheen recently told Buzz, “the football is the hook” – for both players and spectators. The matches are crucial in creating solidarity and energy. Arriving on Monday, we have the good fortune to immediately witness a thrilling encounter between Brazil and Bulgaria, the South Americans ultimately triumphing in sudden death in what the commentator breathlessly describes as the most exciting match of the tournament so far. Germany v Croatia initially shapes up to be an equally closely fought game, but the Germans accelerate clear as the clock ticks down. Even when the disparity between the two sides is significant – such as when France find themselves 10–0 up on Israel at half-time, the electronic scoreboard struggling to keep up – the matches are played in exemplary spirit. The players’ pride in pulling on their country’s shirt and being cheered on from the stands is abundantly evident.

Little wonder there’s a broad smile permanently plastered across Sheen’s face, whether he’s taking in the action from the gantry, posing for photographs or being presented with a shirt by the Cambodian squad. An evangelist for the event and the positive effects it can have, the actor has been instrumental in bringing this year’s tournament to Cardiff and his enthusiasm and energy are infectious.

When the day’s fixture list is complete and the musical entertainment yet to start, he turns roving reporter, mingling with the crowd, mic in hand. Someone’s brought him an onion in tribute to his attempt to peel one with a potato peeler on Celebrity Bake Off, while a member of the Austrian ladies’ team, noting his appearances in Twilight, asks if he’ll bite her (for the record, he politely declines).

Straight from the Indietracks festival and sounding like a South Walian Snail Mail, Rosehip Teahouse’s bittersweet jangle – buoyant harmonies weighed down with wistful, sometimes plaintive vocals – warms us up nicely for Gwenno’s headline slot. Tir Ha Mor is as sleek as ever, and Eus Keus? – about “civilisation’s greatest achievement: cheese” – crowns the set, but it’s a reworked version of Chwyldro, complete with electric harp and bowed guitar, that steals the day. Its refrain – “Paid anghofio fod dy galon yn y chwyldro” (“{Don’t forget your heart is in the revolution}”) – reminds us of the event’s commitment to bringing about change.

The following day, the extent of Sheen’s own personal commitment to the cause becomes apparent. Talking to Radio 5 Live, who are broadcasting from the site, he reveals that funding fell short at the last minute and he’s had to dig deep in his own pocket to ensure that the tournament could take place. Rain falls intermittently all afternoon but fails to dampen spirits, and has cleared by the time Alffa arrive onstage to productively mine the grey area between The White Stripes and Black Sabbath, debut a couple of new songs and get the Norway squad moshing. “Alffa versus the gods of thunder,” Sheen declares, “and my money’s on the boys from North Wales.”

Preceding the Caernarfon duo, Manic Street Preachers frontman James Dean Bradfield plays a five-song solo set bookended by Kevin Carter and A Design For Life that few of us will forget in a hurry. Motorcycle Emptiness, with a starry-eyed Sheen singing along from the back corner of the stage, is simply magical, while If You Tolerate This, Your Children Will Be Next and 30 Year War (“The old boy network won the war again … And the endless parade of old Etonian scum / Line the front benches”) carries a political charge all the more potent in the current moment, and especially on the day that Boris Johnson has paid a fleeting visit to the Senedd. The root causes of homelessness are structural rather than personal, exacerbated in the UK by a decade of ideologically motivated austerity measures. Fostering hope, self-belief and strength in numbers, the Homeless World Cup is a timely catalyst for the fightback.

Info: www.homelessworldcup.org