The Homeless World Cup kicked off in Scotland this week five teams short because the immigration officials denied entry visas to the players of Kenya, Zambia, Burundi, Cameroon and Nigeria, ruling that they did not have the means to support themselves during their visit to Britain.
''To deny homeless people access to the UK on the basis that they are too poor is ridiculous,'' tournament organizer Mel Young told the Guardian. ''The Homeless World Cup is designed to support and encourage people to transform their lives, to lift themselves from poverty, and it has had significant success with 70 percent of players in the last two world cups.''