‘This has been an ideal time to talk to local schools about my time in Durban where the games were played,’ said Rideal, whose firm co-sponsored the Philippines team. ‘I’ve been able to make it fun while at the same time telling students about the millions of vulnerable and marginalised children throughout the world who currently live on the streets.’
India was the winning team in the mini version of the World Cup, even though the country did not make the finals of the ‘Big Boys’ event.
The Deloitte Street Child World Cup is designed to raise awareness of the plight of street children, give them a voice and to campaign for their rights.
The tournament marked the launch of an initiative from the Amos Trust, an organisation that works with a network of community projects around the world to raise awareness of, and provide support to address, injustice and poverty.
The organisers believe that no child should be forced to live on the streets. Together, they call for street children’s rights to a full, healthy and dignified life, as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
As a result of the overwhelming success of this year’s Deloitte Street Child World Cup, similar tournaments are being lined up in the Ukraine (2012 European Cup finals), Brazil (2014 FIFA World Cup finals), France (2016 European Cup finals) and, if their bid is successful, the UK (2018 FIFA World Cup finals).
‘Although the tournament is over for this year, the work of the new Amos Trust initiative continues,’ said Graham Rideal. ‘They help give support to the street children and try to give them a small part of the lifestyle that others take for granted.’
