Hollywood actor Michael Sheen’s bid to bring the Homeless World Cup to Cardiff has been successful, with the tournament heading to Wales next year.
The announcement was made ahead of last night’s friendly match between the Wales national team and Spain at the Principality Stadium – shocking the world and the Street Football Wales (SFW) players, who were paraded on the pitch before the game.
SFW patron Sheen brought together government, not-for-profit and private sector as part of the bid as well as producing a rousing speech on BBC’s The One Show to make the case for a Cardiff tournament in July.
I went on The One Show and they asked for a rousing speech to bring the Homeless World Cup to Wales. This is it. https://t.co/QD8XpUifHx
— michael sheen 💙 (@michaelsheen) July 7, 2017
“I am so excited to have won the rights to bring the tournament to Wales,” said Frost/Nixon star Sheen. “We are going to deliver the best tournament yet. I am incredibly grateful to the many partners across Wales who helped us get to this point.”
Homeless World Cup Foundation president Mel Young took to the microphone to reveal that more than 500 players from 50 countries will head to Wales for the 17thedition of the tournament.