A goalie guards the net at an Ottawa Street Soccer tournament at the Louis Riel Dome.
Two very different soccer teams met up at Gloucester’s Louis Riel Dome Sunday afternoon with the purpose – or, more obviously, “goal” – of having fun, but also building social ties for one of the teams – a street soccer squad of homeless players.
Ottawa Street Soccer is part of the national Street Soccer Canada, which uses the sport to engage and empower isolated people and those living in poverty.
The Sunday micro-tournament saw the Ottawa chapter take to the field with soccer fans from the Ottawa Police Service. Four teams were pooled from Street Soccer and from the police, with each team facing off against one another throughout the afternoon games.
“Ideally, we just hope it’s a place for them to have fun,” said Ottawa Street Soccer founder Tatiana Rother. “I mean, a lot of these people come from difficult backgrounds or are facing difficulties in their lives right now. It’s sort of a chance for them to just forget about their problems and to just play the game.”
Rother said the games seek to build social networks for the isolated, socially disadvantaged members. Ottawa Street Soccer always tries to get the community itself involved in the games. Ottawa police are a leading organization in the community.
If a player comes across a police officer – one they have played with – on the street, it will hopefully be a friendly interaction – an interaction that may have turned out differently if not for the game.
Dennis Comb has been playing with Ottawa Street Soccer for just over a year, after hearing about it at the Ottawa Mission. Now, he tries to make every game.
“We have a team spirit. Some camaraderie gets built every time,” he said. “And it’s just good to be involved in something healthy; instead of otherwise.”
Last year saw a big highlight for them, he said. When he was just a green member, the team made it to the Eastern National Championships in Toronto.
At the Sunday game, there was the expected on-field arguing – and some four-letter words when one player suffered a shoulder injury – but Comb was right when he said the team has built up a good camaraderie. With praise for well-executed passes and “good D,” there wasn’t much time for serious jeering.
A delay in the game’s start time cut the tournament short and interrupted the small fundraising effort. There were no winners at the end, but the police were awarded a honourary trophy as a thank you for coming out.
Cities such as Toronto and Vancouver have entire leagues in place so they can have teams face-off, said Rother, but Ottawa Street Soccer needs more committed volunteers to help run additional teams. Still, the group has signed on some dedicated members through word-of-mouth alone.
One member of the Ottawa chapter may get a chance to play in a much bigger tournament this fall. Street Soccer Canada will handpick members from teams across the country to represent Canada at the 2012 Homeless World Cup in Mexico.