Home and Away: In Search of Dreams at the Homeless World Cup of Soccer

by Dave Bidini

An uplifting tale of travelling with Team Canada as they compete for the Homeless World Cup. In 2008 Dave Bidini accompanies Homeless Team Canada to the Homeless World Cup in Melbourne, Australia. As he watches team members play and shares their disappointments, frustrations, joys, and triumphs, he comes to care deeply about the players—45-year-old Billy, who is a former addict; the quick-footed 24-year-old Moroccan immigrant Juventus, who refuses to talk about his past; and most of all, the endearing teenaged Krystal, who carries a photograph of her long-dead mother and dreams of a better life. Bidini gets to know the other teams at the World Cup and describes the games themselves, culminating in the final between Canada and Malawi and a chance for the talented Krystal to join a soccer team in Holland. Bidini also begins to understand what this tournament means to people. He sees firsthand the power of sport to transform the lives of those on the edge—how the decision to play this game can mean the difference between survival or heading down a road of addiction, poverty, or crime. Home and Away offers a powerful look at the poor and dispossessed, from the barrios of Mexico City and the shanties of West Africa to the streets of North America and Europe, and illuminates the renewed meaning that these homeless players find in the beautiful game.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports

192 pages, Paperback

First published August 23, 2010

About the author

DAVE BIDINI is the author of nine books. His play, "The Five Hole Stories," was performed by One Yellow Rabbit and toured Canada in winter, 2009, and his two "hockumentaries," The Hockey Nomad and The Hockey Nomad Goes To Russia were Gemini-nominated films, and The Hockey Nomad won for Best Documentary.

Bidini is the recipient of numerous National Magazine Awards, and is a weekly columnist in The National Post. In 1994, his former band, Rheostatics, won a Genie Award for the song 'Claire' (from the film Whale Music), and two of their albums were included in the Top 20 Canadian Albums of All Time. His first hockey book, Tropic of Hockey, was named one of the Top 100 Canadian Books of All Time by McCllland and Stewart, and his baseball odyssey, Baseballissimo, is currently being made into a feature film.

He is a board member of Street Soccer Canada, and has attended two Homeless World Cups, traveling with Team Canada to Melbourne and Milan.

David Bidini lives in Toronto with his wife, guitarist Janet Morassutti, and their two children.

Reviews

[Alison Donnelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as a really interesting and eye-opening counterpoint to the recent World Cup in Brazil. Following the Canadian homeless football team through their trials and tribulations during the Homeless World Cup in Australia was a journey of triumph and tragedy I really enjoyed. An unusual read I may not have picked up had I not seen it at our library.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, but really interesting and hopeful read. Quick snapshots of world homelessness, told through the lives of the competitors. Some still struggling mightily. Bidini leaves out judgement, in favor of a journalistic approach to the subject.

[Paul Meloon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very uplifting and inspiring book about a worldwide soccer program I knew nothing about. The Homeless World Cup has brought those downtrodden from around the world to give the players hope. A great book by a great writer.

[THE TORONTO QUARTERLY · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read my review of 'Home and Away' on the TTQ blog.

http://thetorontoquarterly.blogspot.c...

[Julienne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Watch for a review in an upcoming Geez.