How it began
1.7 million lives changed since 2023
200,000 people supported each year
20 tournaments
3 cities ending homelessness forums
73 member countries
One vision: A world without homelessness
“I was having a beer with my great friend Harald Schmied who ran a street paper for homeless people in Graz, Austria. We had been taking part in the annual conference of the International Network of Street Papers. We sat up late into the night talking about how we could all change the world.”
When Mel Young and Harald Schmied, co-founders of the Homeless World Cup Foundation attended an international conference in the early 2000s, they noticed something crucial: although the room was filled with editors, founders and directors, no one experiencing homelessness was present.
The very people whose lives were being discussed had no voice at the table.
They asked themselves a simple but transformative question:
How could they give people experiencing homelessness access to the same global inspiration, community and opportunity they were witnessing?
After hours of discussion, they landed on an idea bold in its simplicity and universal in its power - football. A language spoken everywhere. A game that removes barriers.
“By the end of the night we had invented the Homeless World Cup - a global street football tournament where teams from around the world could represent their countries. It was a lively, animated conversation and we both imagined a vibrant event that could change people’s lives,” Mel recalls.
Just 18 months later, in July 2003, the first Homeless World Cup took place in Graz, Austria. What began as a late-night idea became a global movement. Since then, the tournament has travelled across the world, uniting nations, celebrating resilience and in 2026, the 21st edition of the tournament will take place in Mexico City.
Graz
2003
Mel Young
Mel Young is a globally recognised social entrepreneur who co-founded The Big Issue in Scotland in 1993, the International Network of Street Papers (INSP) in 1995 and Social Entrepreneurs Network Scotland (Senscot) in 1999.
Mel is also a Fellow of the Schwab Foundation of the World Economic Forum and a Senior Ashoka Fellow – both international organisations that bring together leading social entrepreneurs. He is a former Chair of sportscotland, the national agency for sport in Scotland.
He has been awarded five honorary degrees from Scottish universities. He is a lifelong supporter of Hibernian FC and the author of GOAL! The story of the Homeless World Cup.
Mel also teamed up with Peter Barr to write Home Game – the Official Story of the Homeless World Cup – which provides an insight into the birth of the Homeless World Cup and how it has become a global phenomenon, helping to transform the lives of over one million people in 70 countries – using the power of football.
Harald Schmied
Harald Schmied studied History/Social Studies and German Linguistics at The University of Graz and Management of Social Innovations at the University of Applied Science in Linz.
He worked as Head of Communications & Fundraising, as well as Member of the Management Board, at Caritas Styria. His previous positions included CEO of the Homeless World Cup in 2004 and Editor-in-Chief of the Graz-based street paper Megaphon (1998-2004). Before that, he worked as a teacher and a freelance journalist.
For his role as a co-founder of the Homeless World Cup and the inauguration of the first event in Graz, Austria in 2003, he was awarded with the Styrian Human Rights Prize in 2004. More recently, Harald was awarded the Merit Badge of the Republic of Austria, one of the highest awards anyone can receive in the country.
In 2016, Harald was diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He sadly passed away in October 2018.