Entertainment

Homeless World Cup stages keepy uppy tournament after annual event cancelled

Fifty teams from around the world will compete.
Fifty teams from around the world will compete. Fifty teams from around the world will compete.

The Homeless World Cup has responded to the cancellation of its annual event with an international keepy uppy tournament.

The competition usually sees people who have experienced social exclusion such as homelessness represent their countries in a smaller format of the game.

But this year’s event in Tampere, Finland, was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Instead, a Homeless World Cup Day has been arranged for July 5, where pundits will look back at some of the finest games in the history of the competition in a virtual celebration.

The day will also see the final of both the men’s and women’s Homeless World (Keepy Uppy) Cup final, with early rounds in progress over the coming days to see who will advance.

England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will all take part, with players sending a 30-second video of their effort in to the tournament organisers.

Points will be awarded for the number of keepy uppies completed, with additional points for the ball being controlled with the head or the shoulder.

Denmark and Kyrgyzstan were the first teams to qualify for the next round, while the Netherlands and Tanzania joined them on Tuesday.