WHEN he was 17 years old, Eric Masheti lost both his mother and father. Before she died, his mother asked her children which one of them would make her proud by going on to play football for Kenya.
“Before she died,” Eric recounted, “my mother asked her children which one of them would make her proud by someday playing for Kenya.”
One of five brothers and five sisters, Eric had no idea at the time that his mother’s dream would one day be a reality. But 10 years later Eric is fulfilling her wishes by representing his country at the 2008 Homeless World Cup.
Now 27, Eric is the assistant captain of the Kenyan team, helping his side reach the top spot in Group D. During Thursday’s top-of-the-table clash against Portugal, Eric scored Kenya’s first two goals, igniting the charge that would eventually see Kenya come back from three goals down to win the match in extra time.
This ability to turn a game around is a quality that Eric admires in his favourite footballer, Brazilian national team and AC Milan player Kaka.
“I like Kaka’s cool head,” Eric said, wishing he had some of the Brazilian’s grace under pressure.
But back home, Eric faces some extraordinary pressures of his own. Living in the poor Jericho housing estate outside of the capital Nairobi, Eric makes a living by hiring out his brother’s set of loudspeakers for local events like weddings. But with the poor economic conditions in Kenya, Eric finds that there are fewer and fewer special events these days.
“Food prices have doubled since August,” Eric lamented. “Basics are like luxuries.”
Now it's hard enough for Jericho residents to pay for the cost of food, let alone pay to rent a set of speakers. So that means less work for Eric.
But when Eric isn’t working, he is playing football. He’s very excited to be competing in the Homeless World Cup, and like many players dreams of playing professionally for a foreign club. He is also excited that the FIFA World Cup will be coming to South Africa in 2010.
He has already made his mother’s dream come true, but with all the focus on African football in the next year, maybe Eric will be discovered by an AC Milan scout while playing football on the streets of Jericho. Then he could realise his own dreams – and get a chance to play alongside his football hero, Kaka.
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In other Homeless World Cup news, Afghanistan are the only team remaining unbeaten at the tournament. However, even their aura of invicibilty came under scrutiny on day five, as they laboured to narrow wins over France and Lithuania.Elsewhere, hotly tipped Brazil scraped past their ancient rivals Portugal 2-1, while current holders Scotland hit form with a 7-3 win over hosts Australia. The Street Socceroos had a disappointing day results wise, but put in a memorable display against Poland.
England sneaked in through the back door, qualifying through a nerve-racking last minute win against Ukraine.
The final match of the day at Fed Square produced a Homeless World Cup classic. Trailing 6-0 to the USA at half time, New Zealand fought back valiantly to take the match to penalties. Find out who held their nerve here.
The eight quarter-finalists duking out the 2008 Homeless World Cup are as follows:
Afghanistan
Brazil
England
Ghana
Kenya
Russia
Scotland
Ukraine
For other i On Global Trends articles on this worthy event please click the the label. For results, match reports and in-depth articles, please visit the Homeless World Cup website
Courtesy The Big Issue
Published by Mike Hitchen, Mike Hitchen Consulting
Putting principles before profits
This blog will be on holiday from Dec 15 2008 -Jan 12 2009!
Putting principles before profits
This blog will be on holiday from Dec 15 2008 -Jan 12 2009!
