"Fútbol" on the "Zócalo"

Today I went downtown, and as I headed toward the "Zócalo", Mexico City's main plaza, I could see that something was going on.  I sometimes get upset with the continuous events that are held there, cluttering up the plaza and distracting from the view of the historic buildings surrounding it.  There was a sign that said "Entrada Gratuita" (Free Admission) so I decided to cross the street and see what they were doing this time.

It turns out that Mexico City is hosting the 16th annual Homeless World Cup... something that I had never heard of.  The program helps young homeless people turn their lives around through participation in soccer.  This year more than 450 people from 42 countries are participating.  The competition began on November 13th and will continue until November 18th.  It seems like a good cause, so I guess I can't be too upset over the "clutter" on the Zócalo.

Three "mini-stadiums" have been set up on the plaza.  Games are one period long and last fourteen minutes.  I entered one of the playing areas as a game was about to begin, and I took a seat in the bleachers.  The game was between the women's teams from Mexico and Egypt.

There has been a women's competition for nine of the sixteen years that this event has been held.  The Mexican women have won that championship five of those years.  From the looks of this game it would seem that Mexico has a strong team again.  They defeated Egypt 7 - 2.