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GOAL! The Story of the Homeless World Cup
The football story of the year, Goal! is told by
co-founder, Mel Young. Beginning with the
initial idea in Cape Town, there are
recollections of the glorious atmosphere in
Graz, the philosophy behind the tournament, the
impact of poverty worldwide and, most
importantly the stories of the players
themselves, who were transformed from society’s
outcasts into heroes. |
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The building
Rory Levine worked in, adjacent to the Twin Towers, was
blown to smithereens during the attack. Fate played its
part. He was late for work. If Rory had been on time….
"Thanks be to God,” he says.
While his life was spared, Rory’s job was gone. With no
income he couldn’t pay the rent and the landlord threw
him out. He received compensation for his situation as a
result of 9/11 but the payment came through too late to
save his tenancy and he ended up on the streets. As the
world grieved for the victims and families of the
tragedy, Rory, like the thousands of other homeless
people, was simply forgotten. To all extents, he had
become invisible.
Rory arrived at the Grand Central Neighborhood Social
Services Corporation which runs a variety of programmes
through its Mainchance scheme. It provides basic shelter
in the form of lounge chairs in an overnight seating
area, right through to integrated employment and housing
programmes.
Graz made an immediate impression upon Rory. It was
clean, quiet and people “seemed to drink beer quite
freely.” They settled into their accommodation and made
friends with their immediate neighbours from Brazil,
South Africa and Ireland.
“We won our first game and I felt overwhelmed,” recalls
Rory. “It was exhilarating. People were actually
cheering us. The media was following us, their cameras
were flashing and their microphones were pushed towards
us.”
Rory became popular with the crowds with his trademark
high-five and bandana. “Yes, the kids started wearing
bandanas, which was cool. I had this toothpick and after
a couple of days I noticed these kids with toothpicks as
well. I’d become a bit of a trend setter over there. I
really warmed to the crowd and it was reciprocated.
“We destroyed the stereotyple of the homeless person –
we didn’t look homeless, we were proud, we looked smart
and the people watching thought we were cool. And we
were. We were athletes.
“The tournament gave me a new perspective. After Graz, I
thought ‘I can beat this homeless thing’. I might have
returned to where I was, to the shelter, but in my mind,
I was now just passing through.”
Rory moved out of the shelter eventually and now has a
full-time job as a messenger and lives together with his
god-sister in the Bronx. |