作者：辛西娅·休伯特

2023年7月6日

从蹒跚学步的时候起，西耶娜·杰克逊就开始踢足球了。 当她无家可归时，她失去了她所热爱的运动。 Family conflict when she was a teenager pushed Jackson from her home, and she ended up sleeping on acquaintances’ couches and, for a time, in parks.

“At that time, it was all about survival,” she said. “It was, ‘Where will I sleep tonight? 我下顿饭去哪儿吃？’ ”

杰克逊多年来一直热衷于足球，后来才想到足球。

Then, while receiving services from 萨克拉门托’s Wind Youth Center about three years ago, she found street soccer, whose participants know the fears and uncertainties of being without a stable place to live. 她重新发现了这个游戏，并开始让自己的生活重新回到正轨。

Jackson and hundreds of others from around the globe, most of whom have experienced homelessness or housing insecurity, will compete on an international stage during the 无家可归者世界杯 (HWC). 该活动将由Sac州立大学主办，并于7月8日至15日在大黄蜂体育场举行。

• 2023年无家可归者世界杯信息和直播
• 2023年无家可归者世界杯赛程

The tournament, first played in 2003 in Graz, Austria, is the 无家可归者世界杯 Foundation’s landmark street soccer event. 该基金会是一个慈善机构网络的伞形组织，为无家可归的男人、女人和儿童开展全年街头足球项目。

The event was canceled in 2020, 2021, and 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 以前举办过HWC比赛的城市包括巴黎、墨西哥城、哥本哈根、奥斯陆和里约热内卢等. 来自50个国家的500多名运动员将参加比赛。 萨克拉门托是美国第一个举办HWC比赛的城市，而萨克州立大学是世界上第一所举办这项赛事的大学。

比赛是免费向公众开放的。 可以购买食品和饮料。

赞助商希望这次活动能帮助人们与那些无家可归的人建立联系，并从不同的角度看待这个问题。

“The 无家可归者世界杯 is meant to inspire global change,” said 囊状态 President Robert S. Nelsen, who will retire later this month. “I am incredibly proud that it will be my final event as 囊状态’s president.”

The event, which organizers describe as “a sports tournament with a purpose,” brings together grassroots organizations that help homeless people find community and improve their lives through soccer. Locally, 前萨克州立大学足球运动员丽莎·赖特斯曼和蒂芙尼·弗雷泽 manage 萨克拉门托’s chapter of Street Soccer 美国.

赖特斯曼说，通过参加世界足球锦标赛，运动员既能代表自己的国家，又能与队友和对手建立友谊和同志情谊，她认为街头足球帮助她摆脱了对足球的沉迷和不稳定。 许多街头足球队帮助球员寻找住房和其他支持。

活动志愿者乔纳森·布里克纳说，他希望这次比赛能帮助人们理解并同情无家可归的人。

“This is not just about a tent on the sidewalk,” he said. “I hope people will come away with a whole different view about homelessness.”

杰克逊说，美国街头足球协会和风青年中心帮助她走向更好的生活。 她现在正在工作，学习成为一名牙科助理，和她的狗April住在一间公寓里。

“They helped give me the resources and tools that I needed to move forward,” she said. “I learned the basic life skills that I never got when I was growing up.”

胡安·洛纳说，他从来没有无家可归过，但他的移民父母努力维持生计。 七年前，他发现了街头足球。 他将成为萨克拉门托居民中的一员，为美国队效力。

“I have met and known people who have gone through homelessness, and it’s terrible,” Lona said. “For them, street soccer has been a light in the darkness. 他们激励着我继续前进并做出贡献。

“That’s the part that excites me most about the tournament,” said Lona. “It’s all about helping homeless people, letting them know that they are not alone and have support.”

街头足球和洛纳大半辈子玩的游戏大不相同。 在任何给定时间，每队最多有四名球员在场上。 比赛节奏很快，有两个七分钟的半场，而且由于比赛场地较小，只有篮球场那么大，所以得分机会很多。

World Cup participants will sleep and dine on the 囊状态 campus, and teams from each country will be matched with a “guide” who will help them navigate the University campus and the city. 7月12日星期三，一场关于无家可归者的研讨会将在萨克州立联盟舞厅举行。

布里克纳曾是萨克拉门托城市学院（萨克拉门托 City College）的足球教练和当地养蜂人，他将担任芬兰队的向导。

“These players will be experiencing a new country, a new culture, other languages,” Brickner said. “I’ll be a gofer, a liaison, a support system, a cheerleader. I’m ready to help them in whatever way I’m needed.”

布里克纳从一位足球爱好者那里了解到无家可归者世界杯后，对它产生了兴趣。

“It’s such a unique program and event,” he said. “I love the idea of putting my energy into something that benefits the community.”