For 5 Who've Been Down and Out, the Beautiful Game Gives an Aim

Players on the five-member D.C. Knights homeless soccer team -- Antoine Lewis Sr., left, Michael Knight, Linda Stephens, Paul Gittens and Michael Simms -- practice on the Mall. (Photos By Gerald Martineau -- The Washington Post)

The D.C. Knights left town with a soccer ball and a dream. And when they returned to the homeless shelter where they live, one of those had been deflated.

For two months, the four men and one woman had practiced on the Mall to take part in a national soccer tournament for homeless people, held last weekend in Charlotte. The best eight players were selected to attend the Homeless World Cup next month in Johannesburg.

Indeed there is a world cup specifically for homeless people. And it comes with corporate sponsors who pay to fly people from the cities they call home to the cities where the matches are held.

Ragtag teams of homeless soccer players have been around for about five years, the brainchild of social workers who believe the game fosters allegiance and teamwork. But this is the first year that Washingtonians have taken part.

More than a trip was riding on the outcome.

Paul Gittens, 40, a bulky and bald former drug addict, thought dealers on the street might give up crack and turn to soccer instead. "I want to show them they can be somebody," he said.

At the Homeless USA Cup in Charlotte, players stayed in local churches, not hotels. They had to abide by the rules of the game, which were decidedly loose to reflect the backgrounds of some of the 56 players, who had traveled from such cities as Atlanta, Austin and Philadelphia.

There are no drug tests or criminal background checks. Tournament organizers trust the individual city organizations to ensure that players are indeed homeless, said Lawrence Cann, the tournament's director.

The only requirements: Show up, behave and be sober when you play.

The Knights stood out. Four of the five are more than 40 years old, some of those years hard, and most of their opponents were in their twenties. One team was faster, beating the Knights 11-0. Another team was younger, winning 10-0.

The only team the Knights defeated, barely, at 4-2, had been cobbled together using extra players from different states. Those players had practiced together only after arriving in Charlotte.

This week, the dejected District players returned with their soccer ball to the Community for Creative Non-Violence shelter at 425 Second St. NW.

They had no trophy, no inspiring story.

"I have to say I'm a little disappointed," said Knights team member Antoine Lewis Sr., 28.

Maybe next year, some hoped, the Knights would be among the top eight players representing the United States. That is, if they all have passports and no outstanding criminal warrants.