Saphire Ho Hoi-ting is leading a group of male football players who are former drug addicts and gamblers to get ready for the Homeless World Cup 2024, which will be held in Korea in September, the first time for the game to be held in Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe team has started training since April last year. We meet every Tuesday and Friday night to do training and each session lasts for two hours,\u201d Ho, who works in the fashion business, says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “As team players, they have to show a good attitude and fulfil the attendance requirements. Players must join at least 80% of the training sessions,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Founded in 2001, the Homeless World Cup Foundation hosts the sports event every year. This year, nearly 50 teams will take part in the week-long tournament at Hanyang University in Seoul. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Unlike World Cup matches, each game has two halves of seven minutes with a one-minute interval in between each half. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The team manager says it is important to be friendly but firm when managing the football team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere are two sides of my management: the soft side and the tougher side. I talk to them and check on them. But when it comes to the players\u2019 responsibilities, I tell them strictly about the rules, expectations and the importance of punctuality,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen there are problems in the team, I prefer talking to them directly by WhatsApp messages, phone calls and even fact-to-face chat. I try to show my support for them and encourage them,\u201d the manager says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ho shares gender is not an issue when dealing with a team of men and stresses building trust is the key. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI find it easier to work with men as there is a lot less gossip. I can also communicate with them in a more straightforward manner. Trust is a complex thing, especially as a woman working with a group of men. It takes practice for me to show my care for them,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Without any training in social work and counselling, Ho sometimes has to seek help from others when dealing with issues related to the team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe biggest challenge I find in managing the team is handling players\u2019 emotions, as they have different backgrounds and stories. I try my best to understand them more by chatting with them,\u201d Ho says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe previous team manager comes from a social worker background. But I don\u2019t have such training, so sometimes I seek help from volunteers and social workers,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The manager has overcome challenges by her passion and love for soccer and the team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ho has always shared a great passion for sports. She is a former freelance sports commentator for Cable TV. She learnt about the Hong Kong team through a friend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSports have changed players\u2019 lives. When I see them engaging in training, I think sports have helped them a lot\u2026I remember a mother who shared that football helped her son to get back on his saddle again\u2026what she said made me feel so touched,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think football is a magical thing. It requires teamwork and it helps show people\u2019s real personality, facilitate their communication and enhance friendship. It grooms teamwork spirit, discipline and positive attitude,\u201d she adds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The manager hopes people can be more understanding and compassionate when they come across the homeless in the city and appeals for support to the Hong Kong team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0\u201cWe need to understand their situation. Sometimes I also wonder why they resort to drugs and gambling, but perhaps sometimes things just happen. I hope Hong Kong people will support our Hong Kong team. And I hope that people who don\u2019t know much about the homeless make an effort to learn more about them ,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Edited by Perry Kwok<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A football team in Hong Kong composed of homeless individuals who participate in international tournaments and overcome challenges through football. By Charley Ho, Roy Ng & Daniel Paek Saphire Ho Hoi-ting is leading a group of male football players who are former drug addicts and gamblers to get ready for the Homeless World Cup 2024, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":24375,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-periscope"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24374"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24374\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24377,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24374\/revisions\/24377"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Screenshot-2024-05-20-at-12.45.22-AM-1024x573.png\")
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