Team off for Homeless World Cup

Publication date: Wednesday, 25th July, 2007

UGANDA will for a second year running take part in the 5th Homeless World Cup July 29-August 4 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

By Phillip Corry

UGANDA will for a second year running take part in the 5th Homeless World Cup July 29-August 4 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The team of ten players includes three girls � one of them former She Cranes captain Olive Mbekeka and is led by Joseph Kalisa with former SC Villa defender Robert Semakula as coach.

The Ugandan entourage where handed the national flag by National Council of Sports official Nicholas Muramagi at a brief ceremony yesterday at Villa Park, Nsambya.

"We are glad to be making a second appearance in the global tournament as Uganda's ambassadors," Kalisa, the Country Director of Global Youth partnership for Africa, said.

"This is a huge social development programme and the event tackles racial, poverty and social discrimination in society issues."

Uganda, who participated in last year's event hosted by South Africa and finished 21st out of 48 nation�s, will this year face teams from 55 nation's with a total 1,100 participants.

This year's event will be opened by Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik.
The organisers of the cup dispatched sh32.4m worth of airtickets to fly out the Ugandan team.

Participants will use the tournament to attend conferences targeting social problems like racism in sports, homelessness and poverty eradication.
The team will play a seven-a-side football with each half of the game played for seven minutes.



http://newvision.co.ug/D/8/30/577929