The Portland FC

ALERT BAY — The writer Thomas Wolfe once declared, “You can’t go home again.”

Alert Bay native Richard Mountain found otherwise last weekend when he returned to his birthplace decades after moving to Vancouver with his parents as a youth.

Recently homeless on the streets of East Vancouver, Mountain returned to Cormorant Island to compete in the 53rd annual June Sports Soccer Tournament with other members of Portland FC. The team, made up of recent or current homeless players, is sponsored by Vancouver’s Portland Hotel Society, which provides a shelter and counseling services in the city.

“This has been the greatest experience I’ve ever had,” said Mountain, who was reunited with several family members and met many more for the first time. “We’re going to try to make this an annual thing.”

The Portland club, a co-ed group of players ranging in age from 20 to 54, was overwhelmed by the welcome and treatment they received during their stay.

The team was housed in the Alert Bay Community Centre, and well-wishers continually stopped by with food and gifts.

“We were provided accommodations, and people kept coming with food,” said Dominique Falls, who coached the team and played sweeper in Saturday’s contest against the North Island Selects. “We brought our own food, but they gave us another 12 bags. We were blown away.”

Read more.

For the street soccer players participating in the Western Canadian Street Soccer Tournament at Oppenheimer Park over the weekend, the Homeless World Cup is more than a series of games. It’s become a way of embracing a healthier lifestyle and finding a way off the street.

Every year, the Homeless World Cup is held around the globe with 64 nations taking a team to the tournament. To be selected to go to the Homeless World Cup, a player has to meet one of four qualifications. They either have to be homeless (under their country’s definition of homeless) for a year; an asylum seeker; attending a substance rehabilitation program; or a street paper vendor.

“It’s not about ability, it’s about the progress you’re making and the initiative you’re showing. If we can help two out of 10, that’s fantastic,” said Billy Pagonis, head coach of Canada’s street soccer team, on June 4 while watching the games.

Pagonis, who once was part of Canada’s national soccer program and represented Team Canada in 1984, became addicted to drugs and spent time on the streets after his playing career had ended. After being asked to play for Canada’s first entry to the street soccer world cup in 2008, Pagonis has now returned to coach the team he credits with turning his life around.

For some of Vancouver’s hundreds of homeless, the way to a better life runs through a soccer pitch.

Dozens of teams competed in the Western Canada Street Soccer Championship over the weekend at Oppenheimer Park for a chance to represent Canada at the ninth Homeless World Cup of soccer in Paris, this August.

For the first time, Canada will be sending a women’s team to the World Cup, said Kailin See, a co-coach for the Portland FC men’s team and Portland Phoenix, the only all-female street soccer squad in the nation.

See and Portland FC co-founder Sarah Blyth got motivated to form a national women’s team while accompanying Canada’s men’s street soccer team to the 2010 Homeless World Cup in Rio de Janeiro.

“There were women’s teams from all over the world,” See told The Province on Sunday.

Uganda and Switzerland caught her attention. “These were some women who were coming from some really challenging circumstances.”

See works for the Portland Hotel Society, which houses about 1,000 residents of the Downtown Eastside.

Read more here.

Foot Guérisseur from Alexandra Guité on Vimeo.

Check out Portland Phoenix on CBC Radio: The Early Edition!

A great interview with Portland Phoenix player Paula and Portland Phoenix organizer Sarah Blyth.

In a game that could mark the beginning of a strong friendship and equally fierce rivalry, the Portland Phoenix women’s street soccer team took on the Musqueam Cougars at the Musqueam Gym on March 2. Phoenix, Canada’s first-ever women’s street soccer team, has so far played the majority of its games against men in the Vancouver Street Soccer League.

Like their male counterparts from Portland FC, who represented Canada at theHomeless World Cup in Brazil in 2010, Phoenix players have come together after recent struggles with homelessness. They’ve put a good scare into more than a few of the men’s teams, but are still looking for their first VSSL victory. Unfortunately, the competition wasn’t any easier in their recent game against the Vancouver Police Department’s women’s team.

The weeks of anticipation since the spirited VPD game were palpable during warm-up. Nerves were in the air for Portland Phoenix, who were keen to test their skills against a very talented and well-coached Musqueam team. Only the beauty of the game that was about to be played would outclass the facility provided by the Cougars.

Click here to read more.

Vancouver cops and the homeless put their best foot forward with a couple of friendly soccer matches Friday afternoon, with the gendarmes coming out on top in both lively encounters.

The men’s homeless team, called Portland F.C. after the non-profit service agency that serves the Downtown Eastside, went down 4-2 to the Vancouver Police Department at Andy Livingston Park.

In the other match, a women’s homeless team playing for the first time was beaten 2-1 by a Vancouver police women’s team.

“The women’s team is called Portland Phoenix and is pretty much brand new,” said spokesman and co-ordinator Kurt Heinrich.

The men’s team was the one that went to Brazil for the Homeless World Cup last year.

The teams are made up of mostly transient people from the Downtown Eastside.

Click here to read more.

Metro Vancouver

Canada’s eight-player homeless soccer team said participating in the Homeless World Cup was a wake-up call.

The team returned  from Rio de Janeiro yesterday, saying the trip was incredible, but also a shock.

Canada’s team, all from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, witnessed first-hand how homeless from some of the 47 competing countries receive no support from their governments, including in Brazil, said player Richard Mountain.

“Down there, if you want something, you have to work for it really hard,” he said.

The Canadians did their best to bridge the gap. Co-captain Patrick Oleman gave his last $18 to members of the Poland team.

“None of them had money and they all saw us going out for burgers,” he explained.

“We’re well-known for fair play and sportsmanship, and giving everybody respect,” said Kevin King, the team’s goalie and co-captain.

Canada even lent their shoes to the Italian team.

Despite its poverty, Brazil won in both men’s and women’s divisions.

The Canadian team also played against Brazilian street kids during their time off from the tournament.

“Holy smokes, these kids could move better than we could,” said King.

Read more.

Vancouver Province

They represented Canada and fair play in their own homeless way.

Yes, Canada’s homeless soccer stars played the Canadian way – it’s not whether you win, it’s how you play the game.

So the Team Canada football team came away with the only trophy that really mattered to them – the 2010 Homeless World Cup Fair Play Award.

“It was the best experience of my life, except for having a baby,” said a jet-lagged Richard Mountain, just off the plane from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “Our neighbours were Korea, Italy, Norway, Poland and Cambodia – we became best friends.

“But the highlight for me was playing with the Brazilian kids on the beach – they’re wicked.”

Striker Peter Chow liked the pre-game spectacle almost as much as the game – particularly New Zealand’s fearsome Maori haka and Canada’s pre-game native chant.

“They had their fearsome eyes and intense looks, and we had our power and spirit in our voices,’ said the six-goal scorer. “It was their First Nations against our First Nations.”

Coach Alan Bates, a UBC resident doctor, was proud the team didn’t get a single card for fouling the other teams.

“It was awesome – there was so much happening every day, so many games,” said Bates. “The guys were great at meeting people, making tons of friends, and we got quite a fan base. They were great ambassadors for Canada.”

The sportsmanlike team was singled out to come back with their sporting spirit intact to the 2011 Homeless World Cup in France.

iaustin@theprovince.com

Read more.