Final Day Of The Poor People's World Cup Today

Final Day Of The Poor People's World Cup Today

The remaining sixteen soccer teams will compete in final rounds of the Poor People's World Cup at the Avondale soccer fields, next to the Athlone Stadium in Cape Town at 10am on Sunday, August 8th, 2010. It will feature teams from Tagelsig, Gugulethu, Delft, Athlone, Khayelitsha, Westlake, Crossroads, Hanover Park, and other communities each representing a different country. The all-day tournament will feature a knock-out series of games during which the sixteen teams will go head to head.

Organized by the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign, the Poor People's World Cup has brought together not just teams, but also the people who struggle everyday against evictions from their homes and working places and water and electricity cut-offs. This has been a World Cup accessible to everyone. It has attracted supporters from all across Cape Town as well as local and international journalists, researchers and international radio and television broadcasters.

The Poor People's World Cup began on the 13th of June, the same week as the FIFA tournament, but without any of the displacement, marginalization, or corporate sponsorship. As a result, it has taken not one, but two months, to complete, as the tournament has depended on local donations and the support of well-wishers at home and abroad to cover transportation and other costs. In particular, the London-based union UNITE has sponsored soccer teams kits and the UK group Solidarity Sports has sponsored a set of five trophies.
Local and international press are invited to attend and speak to players and their supporters about the issues that they face on a daily basis as well as their hopes for South Africa's future.

ENDS

© Scoop Media