Homeless World Cup
Homeless World Cup: Transforming Global Operations and Impact with Salesforce Introduction to the Homeless World Cup Foundation
The Homeless World Cup Foundation has been inspiring and empowering individuals for over 20 years through the transformative power of football.
Based on the belief that football can be a vehicle for social change, the Homeless World Cup Foundation holds its annual tournament, the Homeless World Cup, across various international locations and was most recently held in Korea’s Capital, Seoul, where the 19th edition of the Homeless World Cup took place in September 2024.
Since the first Homeless World Cup in 2003, the Homeless World Cup Foundation has helped over 1.3 million people globally to change their lives – through the power of football.
About The Homeless World Cup
The first Homeless World Cup was held in Graz, Austria in 2003, and there have been 19 editions of the Homeless World Cup. The tournament has been held in major cities and at major landmarks across the world including Paris, under the Eifel Tower and on the beaches in Rio De Janerio. Cape Town, Milan, Edinburgh, Melbourne, Mexico City and Amsterdam have all hosted a Homeless World Cup over the years.
The next Homeless World Cup will be held in Oslo, Norway (August 23rd – 30th)
Inspiring Netflix
The tournament was the focus of a feature film (The Beautiful Game) which was released in March 2024 and starting alongside Bill Nighy and Micheal Ward were former Homeless World Cup players who were in Rome for filming. Also in 2024, the Homeless World Cup announced an exciting partnership with FIFA who will support the tournament over the next few years.
Netflix - The Beautiful Game
If you’ve not heard of their work, you may have seen the Netflix film made about them, called The Beautiful Game with Bill Nighy, the film was created about The Homeless World Cup.
We are so delighted to have worked with the team to support an aspect of their organisation using Salesforce.
Why They Needed a New System
Beyond just a sports event, the Homeless World Cup Foundation works year-round, conducting programs in various countries across the globe and in 2024, working alongside the FIFA Foundation, introduced the first ever African Women’s Cup (held in Arusha, Tanzania). The new tournament is part of a groundbreaking project that over the two years will use the power of football to identify vulnerable women, engage them in safe football activities and to guide and support them to safe and productive alternatives to exploitation.
With generous grant funding from the People’s Postcode Lottery, the Homeless World Cup selected Salesforce as its technology platform, partnering with Hyphen8 to bring it to life.
As the organisation grew, it became clear they needed a robust, cloud-based system to handle data entry, streamline communication, and organise logistical information effectively.
Some of the pain points the organisation faced were:
Reliance on Paper and Excel: Important data on players, logistics, and health was spread across paper forms and spreadsheets, limiting accessibility and security.
- Complex Data Collection: Each event requires gathering information on hundreds of players and staff, including dietary needs, medical records, and more, often resulting in data silos.
- Limited Access to Real-Time Updates: With hundreds of changes in participant information before and during the event, such as last-minute injuries or substitutions, they needed a system where updates could be made in real time.
- Lack of Technical Resources: Without a technically-minded team, the Homeless
World Cup struggled to manage and adapt their systems effectively, requiring the support of an experienced partner like Hyphen8.
Supporting Growing Impact
“As teams grew, it was becoming harder to manage dietary information, medical needs, and last-minute changes.
With over 400 people taking part each year, if someone got injured, there could be hundreds of changes to update. We needed a solution to centralise all this information in one place.
- James McMeekin, COO of the Homeless World Cup."
Streamlining Processes and Saving Time
Since implementing Salesforce, the Homeless World Cup team has seen a significant reduction in the time spent on administrative tasks. Here are some key areas where Salesforce has made a real impact.
- Centralised Repository: All 70 national organisations have a single, secure space to input player and staff details, ensuring consistency and accuracy across teams.
- FormAssembly Integration: By integrating FormAssembly with Salesforce, data collection is simplified, allowing updates on participants’ dietary, medical, and travel information.
- Simplified Event Management: The portal enables quick updates to participant information, which is crucial when managing last-minute injuries or substitutions, eliminating the need for constant back-and-forth emails.
- Automated Reporting: Year-end surveys and reporting on player impact are now automated, helping the team showcase the organisation’s impact to stakeholders and supporters without manual data collation.
- Data Security and Accessibility: Salesforce provides a secure, cloud-based environment for sensitive player data, reducing the risk of data loss and improving access for staff and volunteers.
- Impact Tracking: By storing data centrally, the Homeless World Cup can now measure and report the long-term outcomes of their work, including tracking the positive effects participation has on players’ lives.How the System Works During EventsSalesforce has been invaluable in managing the Homeless World Cup’s annual event. Each partner nation is given a unique login to access the tournament-specific portal, where they can upload vital player and staff information. This ensures that all details are current and accessible to event organisers.
“When we invite national partners to the tournament, they receive a password-protected login that connects them to a dedicated portal.
From here, they can input information about each player. If a last-minute substitution is needed, they can make updates directly in the system—saving us hours and keeping everyone on the same page.”
Powerful Change
The team at Hyphen8 are hugely inspired by the work of Homeless World Cup and we wish them all the best with the next tournament in Oslo!
It is amazing to see the impacts that football has around the world and we are delighted that technology is enabling this social impact to make it easier for people to collaborate with their team.
