Footballer Gary Lineker has kicked off the latest project by the Amos Trust, which aims to give poor children around the world a voice through football.
The Street Child World Cup will bring together teams of street children from around the world to play in a football tournament in a year that will raise the profile of their human rights.
The BBC presenter said: “It is great that the Street Child World Cup will use this game, which is loved all over the world, to help give kids a fairer deal. No child should have to be on the streets, so if football can be a part of making a difference, that’s fantastic.”
Asked if this was the best way for children to achieve their identity, Douglas Alexander, cabinet minister for International Development, said: “I think children all over the world can learn something through football.”
Teams of street children from eight countries across Asia, Latin America, Africa and Europe will compete in the football tournament that will be hosted in South Africa during March 2010, before the FIFA World Cup.
The project co-ordinator, Jenny Dawkins, said: “Typically, hunger, neglect and violence force children onto the streets, and hunger, neglect and violence meet them there. Children participating in the Street Child World Cup will be given opportunities to challenge parliamentarians, decision-makers and the media.
Source: Church of England Newspaper
Further Information: Amos Trust & Umthombo