By Christine de Kock
A FOOTSCRAY man will put his soccer skills to the test on the world stage when he represents Australia in the Homeless World Cup in September.
Nathanael Ling will be among the eight-member squad flying to Cape Town, South Africa, to take part in the event.
Forty-eight countries are expected to participate in the street-soccer tournament, organised by the Big Issue magazine and the international network of street papers.
Mr Ling said he was excited to be part of the “once-in-a-lifetime” experience.
“I’m absolutely rapt about it,” he said.
“I never thought I would go overseas – ever.”
Mr Ling ended up on the streets of Melbourne battling a drug problem last year.
He became a Big Issue seller and the organisation helped Mr Ling turn his life around.
The Big Issue is sold by homeless people who take a proportion of the cover price of each copy they sell.
“I’ve only been with Big Issue since October last year,” he said.
“I was jobless and pretty much didn’t have a home at the time.”
Mr Ling moved from Bendigo with his partner and baby to escape a “real rough crowd”.
“I was involved in drugs and what-not but I wanted to get out of it for my son and my missus and myself.
“I figured it was best for us to move from Bendigo.”
The three of them moved in with Mr Ling’s aunt.
“My aunty was helping us out but she took a nasty turn against me and tried getting us kicked out – and we had nowhere to go.”
He was then introduced to the Big Issue who provided him with a job as a vendor, contacts in the housing sector and other support.
“If I was having problems getting off the drugs they would offer counsellors,” he said.
“I found in myself that I was strong enough and I didn’t need that.”
Mr Ling said with the support of Big Issue and his partner, he soon cleaned up his five-year habit and found a job with an equipment hire company in Footscray.
He also joined the magazine’s street-soccer team, which is made-up of about 30 Big Issue vendors.
“Rather than doing drugs, I did sport and that pretty much gives you the same effect but a more positive effect,” he said.
“The adrenaline rush you get when you play, it’s a really top feeling when you are in a competition, I reckon it’s the ultimate.”
Street soccer is played by teams of four players on an enclosed street-like surface measuring 20 metres by 14 metres.
It is a fast moving game played over 14 minutes with players allowed to ricochet the ball off timber walls.
Melbourne will host the Homeless World Cup in 2008 at Federation Square, with the support of the State Government and other contributors.
George Halkias, the Big Issue’s street socceroos program coordinator, said the World Cup had been running annually since 1996.
Nike supports the initiative by providing sporting gear such as shoes, tracksuits and tops.
Some overseas teams are coached by such top line clubs as Manchester United and Real Madrid.
The Big Issue’s soccer team in Australia is supported by Smorgan Steel who will cover the team’s plan tickets, while major sponsors like the Body Shop and Department for Victorian Communities also support the initiative.
Mr Halkias said the tournament gives players a “sense of belonging, of purpose, respect for their bodies and their minds which they might not have had”.
“It gives them an opportunity to socially interact in an informal way with support workers.”
He said the international competitions also drew attention to the issues relating to homelessness such as mental illness.
“Eighty per cent of those who are homeless are mentally ill,” Mr Halkias said.
Researchers have found 77 per cent of Homeless World Cup soccer players changed their lives after participating in the game, finding regular employment, undertaking further education and improving their housing situation.
