Destiny and Vicario meet Korean men's Homeless World Cup squad

Members of the Korean men’s Seoul 2024 Homeless World Cup squad met with Destiny Udogie and Guglielmo Vicario in Seoul to unite in the Homeless World Cup Foundation’s mission to transform lives through the power of football.

The Homeless World Cup is an annual tournament which supports those who have experienced homelessness. Since the first tournament in 2003, the Homeless World Cup Foundation has helped over 1.2 million people globally to change their lives.

The Seoul 2024 Homeless World Cup is the 19th edition of the tournament, the first time it has been held in Asia and takes place at Hanyang University from Saturday 21st September until Saturday 28th September.

Udogie and Vicario met with representatives from the Homeless World Cup Foundation and the Seoul 2024 Local Organising Committee, as well as the Korean squad, at Mokdong Futsal Stadium. The Korean players subsequently led a teach-in of the tournament’s unique rules before taking part in a traditional Homeless World Cup match and penalty shootout, with our players each helping to coach one team.

The rules of the tournament include two seven-minute halves and a maximum of four players per team on the pitch, three outfield players & one goalkeeper, plus four substitute players. One attacking player must always be in the opponent’s half to create a three on two with attack and defence, creating fast paced games that are full of goals.

There are no points awarded for a draw in the Homeless World Cup so if the scores are level, the match is decided with a sudden death penalty shootout.

Vicario said: "It was a big pleasure for us to come and meet the Korean Homeless World Cup team today. We were able to hear their stories and learn some things from them about the rules of the tournament, and also help them out by giving advice on their game, so Destiny and I were very happy to be here today."

Korean men’s Seoul 2024 Homeless World Cup Manager Paul Lee said: "For our Seoul 2024 Homeless World Cup players, meeting two professional footballers meant everything to them.

"The Homeless World Cup tournament itself is a once in a lifetime experience, and we still have that to look forward to in September, but thanks to Tottenham Hotspur our players have one more inspirational experience that can help shape their future."

The tournament does incredible work to support homeless and marginalised people, using grassroots organisations across the globe to offer support services, including support with housing, documentation, mental health and vocational training. They also deliver referee training for players wishing to use football as an income-generating opportunity and 94 per cent of participants say the Homeless World Cup positively impacted their lives.

Attending representatives from the Seoul 2024 Local Organising Committee included former Korean striker, and long-time teammate of our captain Sonny, Kuen Ho-Lee, as well as the Homeless World Cup Foundation’s Chief Operating Officer James McMeekin.

Mel Young, co-founder and president of the Homeless World Cup Foundation, said: "For the 11 Korean men’s players and their manager, today was a once in a lifetime experience, one that will inspire them when they put on their country’s shirt in September.

"Meeting the Tottenham Hotspur players has been a real honour, and especially having the opportunity to show professional footballers what makes the Homeless World Cup so special with the tournament’s unique rules and fast-paced style of play.

"We can’t wait for the Seoul 2024 Homeless World Cup; the tournament is a magical experience and always delivers fantastic football across the eight days of action. We hope the public in Seoul, especially local football fans, come along to Hanyang University in September to watch and support this wonderful event in their home city."

Tottenham Hotspur is proud to support the Homeless World Cup’s mission to help change lives through football, and indeed has a history of supporting the initiative, having sponsored Team India at the Paris 2011 Homeless World Cup.

The Club has a unique platform to raise awareness for good causes and global issues such as homelessness, and hosting this year’s tournament is important to the city of Seoul and South Korea as a whole – our captain Sonny has participated in the #passforhome challenge to raise awareness of the tournament globally.