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Fabrice Mugabe passes the ball beyond the opposition defender to Jean-Philippe Dur\u00e9, who strikes it into the gloves of the goalkeeper, an intervention worker at the Montreal homeless shelter where both men are staying.<\/p>\n
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For the men on the indoor field in Montreal\u2019s Plateau neighbourhood, it was the first chance to show off their skills to recruiters, who are fielding a team to represent Canada at an annual international soccer tournament in Oslo, Norway, in August \u2014 the Homeless World Cup.<\/p>\n
After Wednesday\u2019s practice session, Mugabe, 35, said he felt \u201ctired, exhausted, winded but above all amazing because it has been a long time since I\u2019ve been out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m tapping into something I haven\u2019t tapped into in a long time,\u201d he said, relishing his shot to potentially suit up for Canada.<\/p>\n
The Canadian Street Soccer Association, which organized Wednesday\u2019s training session, is a non-profit that uses sports to help people experiencing homelessness and other forms of social exclusion to reintegrate into society. It reached out to the city\u2019s homeless shelters, inviting the vulnerable to take part in the beautiful game.<\/p>\n
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The association\u2019s goal is to recruit players from different provinces to participate in the Homeless World Cup, run by a charity called the Homeless World Cup Foundation.<\/p>\n
After the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Mugabe lost not only his job at a warehouse, but also the roof over his head. \u201cI kind of went through a rough patch like everybody else, and without work I didn\u2019t really have anywhere to go,\u201d he said. But with the help of Maison du P\u00e8re, a men\u2019s homeless shelter in Montreal, Mugabe has a new job and is putting money aside so he can move into an apartment.<\/p>\n
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