The Seoul 2024 Homeless World Cup has been hailed as a celebration of hope by Elkan Mammadov, Director, Member Associations Europe, following the completion of the Men’s and Women’s finals in Seoul, Korea Republic.

Mexico claimed victory in both the Men’s and Women’s tournaments with a 6-5 victory over England in the Men’s final and a 5-2 win over Romania in the Women’s decider.

For the Women, it was Mexico’s ninth Homeless World Cup title – and seventh consecutive title – while it was the fifth victory for the Men.

“The Homeless World Cup is not only about competition, it is also about the celebration – celebration of hope,” said Mr Mammadov. “Together, FIFA and the Homeless World Cup Foundation, through this partnership we can combat the issue of homelessness and make this world homelessness free. That is the goal. This is a long-term strategy, and it goes in line with the FIFA President’s vision: Football Unites the World. And we can see that football really does unite the world after what we witnessed here this week at the Seoul 2024 Homeless World Cup.

“80% of participants at the Homeless World Cup have found a home for themselves, a permanent address, and found work in sports communities all over the world. That’s the legacy of football.”

The 2024 tournament was the 19th edition of the Homeless World Cup, with 450 players and 52 teams from 38 nations taking part.

An annual event that began in 2003, the Homeless World Cup harnesses the values and virtues of football to offer a unique experience to people in need, helping them to regain their self-confidence and make a fresh start.

This was the first tournament held since the Homeless World Cup Foundation (HWCF) and FIFA signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU). As part of FIFA’s focus on social responsibilities, FIFA and the HWCF have agreed to jointly broadcast the event on FIFA+ while FIFA supplied material and equipment, including medals, footballs and trophies.

“The MOU has been signed for three years and we will delve into the organisation and preparation to make the Homeless World Cup bigger,” said Mr Mammadov. “To have more teams, more athletes, more Homeless World Cup Member Countries taking part globally and more cities, hopefully bidding to thost this wonderful event.

The MOU was signed after a meeting between FIFA President, Gianni Infantino and HWCF President, Mel Young. Both organisations have long-term visions to increase the number of people given opportunities through this tournament.

“It’s just been a fantastic tournament as it is every year and everyone is happy, smiling and singing, said Mr Young, “There are winners every year but at the Homeless World Cup, everyone's a winner. Football has a real power to create change, and you can see it right here in front of your eyes after the amazing week we have had Seoul, Football has the power to change the world, it really does.”

The next edition of the Homeless World Cup will be held in Oslo, Norway in August 2025. It will be the second time the city has hosted the tournament with the matches to take place at the iconic Rådhusplassen (City Hall Square).

“We’ve developed and signed an MOU with FIFA and we hope that through this partnership, we can grow and help more people globally. With FIFA’s support, we want to become a bigger and stronger organisation, that helps strengthen our partnerships around the world and, therefore, makes an impact on more people. We just want to do more all the time throughout the year,” said Mr Young. “The hard work starts now with our Member Countries who do the hard work in the streets and in shelters around the world. We want more countries to be involved, we want to be doing more work and we will do everything we can to achieve that dream.”