A team of Hong Kong footballers and coaches, who have struggled with gambling and drug abuse, are aiming to overcome their pasts by competing in the 20th Homeless World Cup in Norway this week. The players, led by captain Habib Akeel Amjid, flew to Oslo on Thursday to represent Hong Kong at the tournament, where they will compete against 39 other men’s teams for the title. For Amjid, a 42-year-old father of three children aged between four months and nine years, playing for the team transformed his life from previously borrowing money to fund gambling, suffering from drug abuse and sleeping on the streets. “I slept in Victoria Park last September and October. I had lost so much money, I couldn’t go home. I’d occasionally shower at friends’ or at the public disabled toilets,” said Amjid, who lost more than HK$40,000 (US$5,127) in one night. He became involved in gambling through people he met who also used cannabis and, over three to four years, sank into a quagmire of addiction, spending all of his salary – including what was meant to support his family. On a friend’s recommendation, he tried out for the homeless football team. “Once I joined, I stopped gambling and smoking weed, because it gave me a goal – representing Hong Kong. I don’t have time to think about those any more,” he explained, adding that the support from his family and coaches was invaluable. However, Amjid was unable to get the 10 days off work needed for the tournament, held from Saturday to August 30, leading him to make a drastic decision – resigning from his job as a driver. “I felt that football was more important than my job. I said, ‘If you consider [what I bring to the company] was of value, please get me when I’m back.’ If not, I’ll find others,” he said. “I’ve trained hard for so long.” The tournament has its own set of rules in which each team of eight has four players on the pitch at any time, with substitutions allowed throughout the 14-minute game. If the score is tied, the match proceeds to sudden-death penalties. A prerequisite for participants is that they must have experienced homelessness or social exclusion – such as being in rehabilitation – within the two years before the tournament. Each player is only allowed to participate once in their lifetime. Also on the team is 24-year-old player Yu Chun-tung, who had a promising professional career, having been part of the youth teams of prominent Hong Kong clubs since he was 12. However, his dreams were dashed when he was caught trafficking drugs at the age of 18. “I wanted to represent Hong Kong at the World Cup as a kid, which is a fantastical thing to say. Never did I think it’d come true,” he said. Chu Fu-wing, 43, who has returned to the team as a manager, having been a player in 2008 and an assistant coach multiple times thereafter, said he decided to do so because he wanted to contribute. “I got myself a coaching license and wanted a challenge. I am one of the more experienced players as our version of the game is very different to what’s commonly seen. I felt a responsibility to pass this on,” he said. Chu dropped out of school at about 15 and took ketamine as well as Ecstasy. He was arrested at 19 and subsequently entered rehab. He now works in logistics and has a seven-year-old child. Ng Wai-tung, vice-chairman of Street Soccer Hong Kong, said more than 30 applicants competed for eight spots on the team and that strict rules are in place, including spot checks. “There were isolated cases in the past where they had already started training, but reverted to drug abuse; they were taken off the team. If they still fit the two-year homeless requirement, we’d encourage them to join the year after,” Ng said. According to Ng, 80 per cent of the Hong Kong participants managed to overcome their addictions over four to five months of training. He said nine businesses sponsored the flights of eight players, the coach, and the manager to Norway this year, with two assistant coaches paying their own way, while food, accommodation and local transport were covered by the hosts. “It doesn’t seem like a lot with only eight going, but it’s about the impact on society, that it’s still willing to give them a chance to turn a new leaf,” Ng said. “It’s a positive message for society, not just the homeless.”