Women’s homeless team are ‘truly inspirational’ after winning trophy

BEDLAM at Dublin Airport on Monday, as family and supporters welcomed Ireland’s women’s team home, who brought a trophy from the Homeless World Cup (HWC) in South Korea.

Coached by Walkinstown’s Mary Byrne, the girls in green defeated the USA 5-2 in a Trophy Stage final on Saturday, capping off a memorable week in which they scored 42 goals across 10 games.

Speaking to The Echo ahead of the tournament at the Maldron Hotel in Tallaght two weeks ago, Byrne said the team had been training three days a week “which is as fit as we can be” and praised the “strong bond” exhibited by the group.

The third place finish is one better than the team’s fourth place finish at last year’s HWC in Sacramento.

Although the Irish men’s team left Seoul without a trophy, they enjoyed a fantastic group stage, winning seven of their eight games, including memorable victories over Brazil, Zimbabwe, Australia, Scotland, and Finland.

While the men’s team reached the quarter finals for only the fourth time in 20 years, they lost out in the knockout stages, and finished eight overall following defeat against Northern Ireland in their Trophy Stage Final.

Irish Street League CEO Chris O’Brien, who travelled with the teams to the finals, said: “It is truly inspirational to see how these 15 people have transformed their lives through football.

“They have experienced so many hardships in their lives yet they are representing their country on the world stage and doing themselves, their families and friends and the nation proud.

“All the hard work that these fantastic men and women have put in over recent months paid off in how they performed over the 10 games in the tournament and they fully deserve every single plaudit that might come their way.”

O’Brien congratulated all the players, coaches, volunteers, sponsors and individuals who helped Irish Street Leagues stay operational and expressed the possibility of hosting the HWC in Dublin in 2028.