The England Homeless team began the countdown to the Homeless World Cup in Mexico City this weekend by launching their tournament playing kit at Wembley Stadium yesterday.

Run by the Homeless FA and supported by Premier League big-hitters such as Manchester United, Arsenal, Everton and West Bromwich Albion, The Football Association has donated £10,000 towards operational costs during England’s time in Mexico.

The Homeless World Cup is an annual event with last season’s 4v4 Men’s tournament won by Scotland in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

This year’s tournament is the first time that England has entered a female team with over 70 nations, including Brazil, Argentina, Germany and France, taking part across the two competitions.

Wednesday saw staff and players from both the England Men’s and Women’s teams given a guided tour of Wembley Stadium where they met Club England Managing Director, Adrian Bevington, before launching their playing kit by the hallowed turf.

“We use football as a way of turning round the lives of homeless people,” explained Gareth Parker, Head of the Homeless FA.

“We’ve got a lot of high profile partners who are supporting us, the most recent being The FA who have come on board to back our England squads ahead of the World Cup in Mexico City.

“It’s not all about the football though and The FA’s money will help with the personal development of all the players involved.”

England Women stars Fara Williams and Rachel Brown, are signed up as coaches for the Homeless FA and will be flying out to Mexico City to assist the teams following the conclusion of this weekend’s WSL domestic campaign.

Bevington added: “It’s really important that we’ve got a Men’s and Women’s team out at this year’s Homeless World Cup and I’m sure it will be a wonderful experience.

“These guys can take all the opportunities that arise around football to help with their development moving forward and we’ll be following the tournament very closely.”

For more information log onto www.homelessfa.org

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