In December 2008, Melbourne will be hosting the 2008 Homeless World Cup at Federation Square and Birrarung Marr from December 1-7. In the lead up to and during the tournament, the84thminute will be following the fortunes of the Street Socceross, a team of homeless and marginalised people from across Australia that will be competing in this tournament. The first step in that process for those wishing to play for the Street Socceroos will be competing in the Street Soccer National Championships to be held at the Waterfront City Piazza, Docklands, Melbourne on Sunday, July 20.

In the lead up to the Street Soccer National Championships, George Halkias, the Street Socceroos National Coach took some time out to speak to Neil Zimmerman of the84thminute.

Neil Zimmerman: First of all, how are the preparations going for the upcoming Street Soccer National Championships?

George Halkias: We are going really well. We are currently co-ordinating all the teams so they can get to Melbourne. We have teams coming from Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales along with a Vic Metro and Victorian Regional team. We are in the process of organising all the flights for the various teams and all the associated logistics. Its a bit more more difficult than for other football clubs as many of the players don’t have proper identification, uniforms or equipment that is required to participate in a tournament such as this.

NZ: When and how did you first get involved with the Street Socceroos?

GH: I came to The Big Issue four years ago to manage a program to take the magazine around Victoria. During this team we received an invitation for Australia to participate in the Homeless World Cup and to develop our own Street Soccer program. Basically, myself and four other volunteers decided to start the program and take a team to Edinburgh for the 2005 Homeless World Cup. That program has continued and we now have participated in the last three World Cups.

NZ: How does the selection process for the Street Socceroos work and what aspects will you be looking for in players during the Street Soccer National Championships?

GH: All the teams will be playing a four-a-side Street Football format on a court roughly the size of a tennis court. Its a pretty fast paced game but their is still plenty of opportunity to show off some skill and maneuverability. We also take the teams away on an one and half day camp and assess their attitude and whether or not when the Homeless World Cup comes around in December they can cope with the pressures of a big tournament both physically and psychologically and be able to represent their country with distinction.
Its going to be a pretty hard task with there being hundreds of players from around Australia for the tournament on Sunday. I will have narrow it down to just eight players for the Australian team. We will also choose ten other players to act as emergencies for other teams during the Homeless World Cup tournament in case of injuries, etc.
We are obviously looking for a bit of talent because with the advantage of the home court we will looking to do well in December. However, the program is really based on attitude, attendance and commitment. Those with the best attitude will be vying for selection.

NZ: Once the team is selected how do they train together considering those who will make up the Street Socceroos will be from different states?

GH: It is going to be difficult in the sense that I will be flying around to the different programs across the country and getting to know the players a bit better and training them up a bit myself. The team will also come down to Melbourne a week or so before the tournament in December and have a serious of pretty vigorous bonding and training sessions. The players will also have had the opportunity to get to know each other through the camp after the Street Soccer National Championships. The week before the tournament we will have to get them working pretty closely together. It will be definitely be a challenge.

NZ: From your point of view when playing in the Homeless World Cup, is it more important for the team to win the competition or for the players to improve their self esteem?

GH: Definitely the latter. The last three years that we have been involved in the Homeless World Cup we have seen the players involved go into work and study and have generally improved themselves and we definitely want that to be the case again this time around. At the same time we want to showcase the skills and talents of homeless and disadvantaged peoples. In Australia we have a lot of beginners that start our program, who have played other football codes at a younger age and you will be amazed by their rapid improvement.
You will also be amazed by the level of skill and talent of the players and we will definitely be out there to win every game and you never know we might be able to surprise a few countries. The UK countries take the tournament a bit more seriously, an example of which is the English team getting trained up by Manchester United. Other teams also tend to get a lot more support from their groups.

NZ: From your past experience with the Street Socceroos what changes do you see come over the players who have participated in the World Cup?

GH: Its not just after the Homeless World Cup, its the week leading up to the tournament at training where you see their attitude improve when they get into a routine and become fitter and healthier. You also see them improving their skills and technique which brings along with it an increase in their self esteem and confidence. Also being able to link the players up with services to help them with any issues that they may have is also benefit of the program.

NZ: And finally, what is the best part about being the National Coach of the Street Socceroos?

GH: You couldn’t get a better job to be honest. I’m probably overworked and underpaid but that’s irrelevant. To be able to go round the country to meet so many people and be involved in the game is fantastic. My background is in community work and psychology so being the National Coach allows me to marry this with my love of football and sport and help people change their lives. Also to be able to represent your country is a pretty exciting and makes one extremely proud.

For more information about the 2008 Homeless World Cup, visit their website.

Neil Zimmerman is the editor of the84thminute and also runs the Victory In Melbourne site. On most weekends Neil can be found at a football match, be it either A-League, Victorian Premier League or a match that he happens to come across whilst walking his dogs.

Photo credit: h-bomb on Flickr via the84thminute photo pool.