Ninth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

The Homeless World Cup (HWC) is an annual event for homeless people. Almost 600 homeless players sent by national partners from over 60 countries participate. These national partners are currently conducting daily activities in 420 venues worldwide. Happy Football Cambodia Australia (HFCA) is an Australian organization, which has held futsal activities in the capital city of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, since 2006. It offers weekly futsal training to Cambodian youth who are sent from several orphanages and youth support NGOs. We conducted eighteen face to face interviews and a number of participant observations from October 2015 to November 2017. As a result, we realized that almost all of the ex-HWC players had found their learning or working opportunities by themselves, although a few ex-HWC players were experiencing difficult lives. Some ex-HWC players had found their jobs as a coaches or players, and even just as staff members by citing their experience in the HWC. The significance of HWC seems to be expanding with the trends of present Cambodian society as well as with the development of HFCA activities.