For God & For Country

“For God and for Country! For God and for Country! Philippines, Fight, Fight, Fight!” 

Twelve players shouted with enthusiasm, their echoes ricocheting off the concrete. The smoky haze of poverty drifted across the field and I saw a woman holding a cloth to her face. But as she watched, I wondered if her heart beat as mine. Hope makes a heart throb and these youth have hope, a contagious hope.

What is the Homeless World Cup?

There are one billion homeless people living in our world today.

The Homeless World Cup exists to end this, so we all have a home, a basic human need.

The Homeless World Cup is an annual, international football tournament, uniting teams of people who are homeless and excluded to take a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent their country and change their lives forever. It has triggered and supports grassroots football projects in over 60 nations working with over 25,000 homeless and excluded people throughout the year. 

The first tournament took place in Graz, Austria in 2003, uniting 17 national teams. At the 5th Homeless World Cup in Copenhagen last summer, 500 players from 48 nations were united for a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent their country. Melbourne is the host city for the next tournament from Dec. 1 to 7. 

The Philippines is one of 56 countries representing the struggles of poverty using football as a venue.  

Team Philippines brings together a model representation of the worldwide issues of poverty.  The poor, for the most part, are young.  The Philippine team is young, perhaps the youngest in the world. The poor suffer hunger.  Our players have suffered hunger. The poor are homeless. Our players are homeless. The poor come from broken families. The poor have suffered abuse. They have had inadequate education, medical care and nutrition.  Our players have experienced each of these things.

Our team represents poverty, but they also represent the Philippines, joining nations from across the globe to play a game, kick a ball – and to fight, fight, fight for God and for country.

What made my heart leap and throb was very simple. It was opportunity, because for the most part the poor don’t have many opportunities.  Second, third and fourth generation poverty began a pattern that needs help to be broken.  The Homeless World Cup can help break it, and to hear our team, it was happening already.

Team Philippines is coached by Marlon Maro and Jess Landagan. Coach Marlon is the program head of several corporate social responsibility football projects like Gawad Kalinga Futbol, Tuloy sa Don Bosco street children’s football program, the Philippine Christian Foundation football training program and the head coach for the Philippine selection to the 2008 Homeless World Cup in Melbourne.  He also brings a wealth of professional experience to the game as one of Philippines’ former international players. Coach Jess also has a storied career as a Philippine footballer and in 1992, as a way of giving back, Jess began working pro bono to coach football at Nayon ng Kabataan of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Together these two men bear the responsibility of bringing together an unlikely group of internationals, teaching them the fundamentals of football, molding them into a team, preparing them emotionally, spiritually and physically. They are spending hours with this team, dribbling, passing, and juggling, giving to them in four months what others in the world have spent a lifetime to perfect.

Meet the members of Team Philippines:

Ricky O. Elequio, stopper, grew up with his grandfather on the island of Masbate.

Russell J. Ayawon, 18, striker, was born in Prosperidad, Agusan Del Sur.

Nina A. Versoza, defense, was born in Bohol into a family of 12.  

Rondolf M. Longgakit, striker, was born in Panabu, Davao. 

Team captain and striker Jay-R de Jesus is the fifth of nine children. He was born in Dasmarinas, Cavite.

Goalie Marlon Lagundino, 17, was born in Guiguinto, Bulacan. 

Jeffrey Solis, striker, was born on Oct 12, 1990 in Makati.

Kevin Prix Logioy, striker, was born in Camarines Norte but he grew up in Bicutan. 

Team Philippines will win!  In a sense, they have already. “For God and for Country.”  How many poor are saying that?

The Philippine Seleksyon to the 2008 Homeless World Cup is supported by Solar Sports TV, Accel Sports (official outfitter), Amici pizza pasta, Jeepney Magazine, Gatorade, Mariposa Travel agency, GNC sports nutrition, SR Metals Inc, Ybarra olive oil, 2Go, Kids International Ministries, Riders/Ipanema sandals, Nike Park, Negros Occidental Football Association, Herbalife Phils, Kublai’s Rock Mongolian Bar and Grill, Boehringer Ingelheim, ABS-CBN, Lotto Soccer, NU 107, the Football Connection/Sports Radio 918.

Find out more at pinoysoccer.com and pffmanila.org. The author is director of Urban Opportunities for Change Foundation, Inc.