"The Women’s Homeless World Cup: Rebecca From Uganda is Unbelievable"
Excerpt from the New York Times Soccer Blog
By: Lawrence Cann
December 6, 2008

"Uganda, Paraguay, Zambia, Liberia, Colombia, Australia, Cameroon and Kyrgyzstan entered the 2008 Women’s Homeless World Cup.

Zambia has shown itself to be the class of the tournament, with Colombia and Liberia close behind. The shy but talented Ugandan team has become stronger and stronger during the competition. The team’s top scorer, Rebecca, was particularly impressive in the team’s 8-6 victory over Paraguay. She is only 16 years old, from Kibuja. Her soft-spoken voice belies the confidence evident in her smile. She plays soccer every day, she said, though in her town there is no formal chance to train.

Anyira Gweyo, translated as Girls Kick It, is the project organized by Global Youth Partnership Africa. The project uses soccer and the tryouts for the Homeless World Cup as a way to engage and educate street youth in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, and a few surrounding communities.

Rebecca is one of five sisters. She says she is a good student, but soccer is her dream. She would like to be a coach and she asked f there were really professional women’s teams in the U.S. “I would like to play there,” she with a smile.

When asked what her family thought of that, she said, “Oh, they do not believe I am in Australia, and they will not believe it even when I return.”

Full text of article: http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/06/homeless-world-cup-perspectives-from-india-england-the-us-uganda-and-nigeria/