Street Soccer USA Cup: Preliminary Findings of a Sport-for-Homeless Intervention.

Abstract

AbstractOver the last decade, the emerging field of sport-for-development (SFD) has advanced efforts of related and applied scholarship and programming. While most of the existing SFD body of knowledge addresses social challenges of the global today's economic recession spreads challenges beyond these regions. Scholars and practitioners of this emerging field are called to address this gap with related and applied scholarship and programming in the global Thus, the purpose of this preliminary study was to investigate the perceived impact of the U.S.-based Street Soccer USA Cup on its homeless participants and identify the event's structures and processes that can facilitate positive outcomes. Data collection consisted of conducting focus group interviews with 11 players and six coaches, and engaging in direct observations. Data were analyzed through the process of open, axial, and selective coding. Results indicated positive perceived impact on participants through building a sense of community, creating hope, cultivating an outward focus, fostering goal achievement, and enhancing personal development. The Cup was effective in achieving positive impact through creating a celebratory and festive space for social interaction, and by creating an inclusive climate where achievement was celebrated. Findings derived from this research provide intriguing foundations for further research and development of the SFD field.Key words: sport interventions, sport-for-developmentAcross the globe, there are a great number of sport-for-development (SFD) initiatives working to facilitate personal and societal change at the local, national, and international levels. SFD is the use of sport to exert a positive influence on public health, the socialization of children, youth and adults, the social inclusion of the disadvantaged, the economic development of regions and states, and on fostering intercultural exchange and peace (Schwery, 2003). One area within the SFD field that is beginning to generate attention among scholars and practitioners is the use of sport to address issues of social inclusion (Bailey, 2005; Sherry, 2010), as social inclusion has been recognized as a fundamental step in improving the social situations of disadvantaged people (Jarvie, 2003). While most of the SFD literature refers to projects and initiatives in the south, given the economic crisis, Lyras and Welty Peachey (2011) suggest that more research and interventions are also needed in the north. In the U.S., homeless individuals have been marginalized and socially excluded from civil society. The number of people experiencing homelessness on a single night in the U.S. was approximately 643,000 in 2011, with the homeless population continuing to rise (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2012). Although shelters and soup kitchens are valuable resources that aid thousands of people, they are often just Band-aids and cannot prevent the issue from continuing and expanding.Feelings of being outcast, unwanted, and having minimal access to social outlets can lead to social exclusion (Sherry, 2010; Spaaij, 2009) and a lack of desire to improve one's homeless status (Biswas-Diener & Diener, 2005). However, some sport-related research has focused on how sport can be utilized to empower and support marginalized, disadvantaged, and socially excluded groups such as the homeless (see Frisby, Crawford, & Dorer, 1997; Sherry, 2010) . There has also been only a little research on the sufficient conditions, processes, and structures needed for achieving positive outcomes through SFD programs in specific settings (Coalter, 2007; Jarvie, 2003). Given this backdrop and gap in the literature, the purpose of this study was to conduct a preliminary investigation of the perceived impact of one sport-for-homeless intervention (the Street Soccer USA Cup) on its participants and to assess the structure and processes of this initiative that may leverage positive outcomes. …

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