The City of Cape Town is strengthening its partnership with Oasis Reach For Your Dreams through the Homeless World Cup programme. The initiative uses soccer to support people who have experienced homelessness and rough sleeping on their journey towards reintegration.

Trials concluded last week, with eight players selected to represent South Africa at the tournament in Mexico in January 2027.

Nearly 60 players took part in the initial trials on 27 August, of whom 22 progressed to a second round at Oasis Business Park last week.

Closer City collaboration

Oasis Reach For Your Dreams, a non-profit organisation, has coordinated Cape Town’s participation in the Homeless World Cup programme for many years. It creates opportunities for people who have experienced homelessness to play soccer at local and international level.

This year marks an important development. Oasis is collaborating more closely with the City as part of Cape Town’s Strategy to Reduce Rough Sleeping and its Vanguard City Programme commitment.

“The strategy recognises that responding to homelessness requires more than providing temporary accommodation,” said the City’s Mayco member for community services and health, Francine Higham.

“Sustainable reintegration requires a person-centred approach that addresses the circumstances that contribute to homelessness while creating opportunities for people to rebuild confidence, relationships, skills and a sense of purpose.

“Sport can play an important role in this journey and the City is proud to support the Homeless World Cup,” said Higham.

Rebuilding through sport

Participation in soccer provides structure, encourages discipline and teamwork, and creates a positive community in which participants can develop friendships and experience a renewed sense of belonging.

For people who have experienced the isolation and exclusion of living on the streets, these social connections can form an important part of rebuilding their lives.

Vanguard Programme

The initiative supports Cape Town’s commitments under the Vanguard Programme. Through this programme, the City works with partners to advance practical, collaborative interventions aimed at preventing homelessness where possible and, where it does occur, making it rare, brief and non-recurring.

Oasis forms part of Cape Town’s Vanguard Action Committee, bringing its experience of working directly with people experiencing homelessness into the City’s collaborative response to rough sleeping.

This year’s participants were drawn from shelters and organisations including Oasis, MES and The Haven Night Shelters, with participation also extending to MES programmes in the Eastern Cape and Johannesburg.

“This collaboration is an example of how the Strategy to Reduce Rough Sleeping can be translated into practical interventions,” said Higham.

“As local government, we cannot address the issue alone, and through partnerships with NGOs, shelters, communities, the private sector and people with lived experience, we can work together to reduce the number of rough sleepers.”

The squad of eight players will be announced on 13 October.

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