SACRAMENTO 2023 HOMELESS WORLD CUP: DAY 3
At 8am on Monday morning, Sacramento State campus was already alive with activity. While Sac State athletes warmed up on the university baseball field, and summer camp attendees were beginning to make their way to various locations throughout the site, campus walkways were already awash with the colourful football strips of Homeless World Cup teams as they made their way to Hornet Stadium for the third day of the 2023 Homeless World Cup tournament.
Women's teams took to the pitches first: Finland facing Nordic neighbours Sweden on Pitch 1, previous tournament hosts Wales took on France on Pitch 2, and the Austrians took on the Danes on Pitch 3.
Another day of back-to-back fast-paced action followed, with matches every 20 minutes on each of the three pitches, all offering excitement and skilful football from the 30 participating nations.
The day saw a nail-biting draw in the men's competition between Group A’s South Korea and Italy (which resulted in a penalty shootout and Italy clinching the win), to high scoring thrillers from Group B’s Switzerland versus Greece clash, and then more evenly matched games such as Union Gospel Mission versus Hungary in Group D.
Credit: Dan Higginson
Off the pitch, gazebos and tents have been set up, providing welcome shady areas from the Californian sun for teams between matches. Paddling pools filled with ice sit next to each pitch. Originally intended for cooling water bottles, these have quickly become small oases. Players from opposing teams can be found standing shoulder to shoulder cooling their hot feet. Training and warm-ups take place on the football field next to the pitches, the American football goalposts towering above them into the clear blue sky. Despite the heat there were some imaginative outfits and accessories on show.
Credit: Anita Milas, Dan Higginson
Day 3 was not just the penultimate qualifying day of the competition; there was action off the pitch as well, as the VSP Eyes of Hope program was on campus, offering free eye tests and glasses to Homeless World Cup teams and volunteers. The first FIFPRO Fair Play Awards were also presented, from Day 1 and Day 2, and will now run daily until the end of the tournament.
Day 3 was the last day, apart from finals on Saturday 15th July, when games were held in the morning. On Day 4, the first games kick off at 5pm local time, giving teams a bit of a rest day. Let’s see what the last day of qualifying brings.
Credit: Anita Milas, Dan Higginson, Donnie Nicholson
Words: Alix Gunn