Homeless World Cup makes US debut in California and scores victories beyond the field for players

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Created twenty years ago, the Homeless World Cup is being held this week in the U.S. for the first time. Players from around the world who are experiencing homelessness or have recently been homeless take part in the street-style soccer tournament. (July 13) (AP video by Haven Daley)

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Mexico and Denmark play at the Homeless World Cup, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

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Francisca Pass, center, is helped by her teammates to get her hair ready for a match at the Homeless World Cup, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

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Mexico players hold hands before taking the field for their match against Bulgaria at the Homeless World Cup, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

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Daniela Silva, second from left, is hugged by Fernanda Torres, right, after Mexico played against Denmark at the Homeless World Cup, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. The games are also much shorter than traditional soccer matches, lasting only seven minutes each half, so anyone can participate. Each country can bring a men’s and women’s team. Women can compete on the men’s team if the country is not bringing a women’s team. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

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Mexico players break a huddle before their match against Bulgaria at the Homeless World Cup, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

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South Korea and Indonesia players join hands after their match at the Homeless World Cup, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. The tournament is being held after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, when homeless populations surged in many U.S. cities. In Sacramento alone, it increased 68% between 2020 and 2022. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

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Italy players cool off before playing a match at the Homeless World Cup, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

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U.S. women’s coach Lisa Wrightsman, left, celebrates with Sienna Jackson, center right, and Elizabeth Kin after the team’s win over Sweden at the Homeless World Cup, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. Wrightsman was a former college soccer player whose life was derailed by drug addiction when she heard about a soccer tournament for players from around the globe who have experienced homelessness. Wrightsman is now the coach for the U.S. women’s team. The tournament made its U.S. debut July 8, and runs through Sunday. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

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Ukraine players take the field for a match against Poland at the Homeless World Cup, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

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Yuli Pineda, left, cheers on her teammates as the U.S. women’s team played against Sweden at the Homeless World Cup, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. Pineda moved to California from Honduras and was living with a foster family when she joined the U.S. team. Pineda said she’s found a sense of community playing for the team. “Every single player comes from different backgrounds,” Pineda, 18, said. “It’s amazing that in a short amount of time we have connected that fast.” (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

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A South Korea player shoots during a match against Indonesia at the Homeless World Cup, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

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Fans watch the match between the U.S. and Sweden at the Homeless World Cup, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

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Women’s teams play at the Homeless World Cup, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

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Ukraine plays against Poland at the Homeless World Cup, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

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A fan cheers from the stands at the Homeless World Cup, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

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Fernanda Torres, left, hugs Daniela Silva before Mexico played against Denmark at the Homeless World Cup, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

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Yuli Pineda, center right, leads the U.S. women’s team in a chant before a match at the Homeless World Cup, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

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Mexico and Bulgaria play a match at the Homeless World Cup, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. Mel Young, who founded the organization running the tournament, said the aim is to build players’ confidence to achieve their goals beyond the games. Some of the athletes have gone on to play professionally, but that’s not the point, Young said. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

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Italy players watch teammates play in a match at the Homeless World Cup, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

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Ukraine’s goalkeeper deflects a shot by a Poland player at the Homeless World Cup, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

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The Mexico women’s team dances together while waiting to take the field for a match against Denmark at the Homeless World Cup, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

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The women’s teams for Norway and the U.S. take the field for a match at the Homeless World Cup, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. Thirty countries are competing in the games with teams that include people who have lived on the streets to refugees to foster children. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

By SOPHIE AUSTIN

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Lisa Wrightsman was a former college soccer player whose life was derailed by drug addiction before she eventually made her way back to the sport through a tournament for players from around the globe who have experienced homelessness.

Wrightsman qualified for the Homeless World Cup in Brazil. It was a competition that would forever change her life. When she returned to Sacramento, friends at the sober living facility where Wrightsman lived told her they wanted “to feel the way you look right now.”

“I actually started to feel value,” she said. “The whole tournament kind of instills you with that.”

Wrightsman is now a coach for the U.S. women’s team in the Homeless World Cup. The tournament made its U.S. debut July 8 in the capital of California, a state with the largest homeless population in the country. The tournament runs through Saturday, just ahead of next week’s Women’s World Cup.

The tournament is being held after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, when homeless populations surged in many U.S. cities. In Sacramento alone, it increased 68% between 2020 and 2022.

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Thirty countries are competing in the games with teams that include people who have lived on the streets to refugees to foster children.

They include Yuli Pineda, who moved to California from Honduras and was living with a foster family when she joined. Pineda said she’s found a sense of community playing for the U.S. team.

“Every single player comes from different backgrounds,” Pineda, 18, said. “It’s amazing that in a short amount of time we have connected that fast.”

One of the special parts about soccer is that it is so popular across the globe, said Lawrence Cann, founder of Street Soccer USA, which organizes the U.S. men’s and women’s teams.

“Imagine if you’re isolated, you feel some level of shame with everything that comes along with being homeless,” Cann said. “This gives you a natural way to connect to the largest community in the world, which is the soccer community.”

Mel Young, who co-founded the organization running the tournament, said the aim is to build players’ confidence to achieve their goals beyond the games. Some of the athletes have gone on to play professionally, but that’s not the point, Young said.

“The events are fantastic. I urge anyone to come and watch,” Young said. “But it’s about moving on. It’s about impact. It’s about people changing their lives.”

Young said he has witnessed the transformation. Years ago, Young said he got on a bus in his native Scotland and was surprised to find out the driver was a former player who competed in the tournament. He told Young he got his bus driving license after the games, was living in an apartment and engaged to be married.

Wrightsman grew up in a Sacramento suburb and was a striker for California State University, Sacramento, also known as Sac State. She struggled with drug addiction and ended up in a sober living facility, which made her eligible to qualify for the Homeless World Cup. At the tournament in 2010, she remembered how much she loved playing, and it built her confidence knowing she could share her knowledge with players who were less experienced.

This year, players are battling dry, hot weather in Sacramento, with temperatures set to surpass 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) by Friday. Some of the games were scheduled for later to avoid the most intense heat of the day.

The games are much shorter than traditional soccer matches, lasting only seven minutes each half, so anyone can participate. Each country can bring a men’s and women’s team. Women can compete on the men’s team if the country is not bringing a women’s team.

On a recent day at Sac State’s Hornet Stadium, players tried to cool down by sitting in the shade under bleachers and tents or by placing wet towels around their necks.

In the stands, spectators waved flags and sported jerseys and caps to show support for their country’s team. Supporters of the Mexican women’s team chanted “Si, se puede!” or “Yes, you can!” during a group stage match Tuesday as the reigning champions fought to win their eighth title.

For Sienna Jackson, a 24-year-old Sacramento native on the U.S. women’s team, playing soccer offered a welcome escape from stress growing up.

“It was something to get my mind off of my life and kind of calm me down,” said Jackson, who experienced homelessness for four years starting at the age of 19.

Jackson now lives in an apartment, works with a pediatric dentist and is studying dental assisting at Carrington College, a career-training school in Sacramento.

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Associated Press journalist Haven Daley contributed.

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Sophie Austin is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Austin on Twitter: @sophieadanna.