In Sofia and elsewhere in Bulgaria, young homeless
people play football twice a week, preparing for the Homeless World Cup. These
trainings are a dynamic way to regain a foothold in society: they are a school
of life for people that often neither had a family nor an educational
framework. Through an entrepreneurial and empathetic approach, Viktor decided
to believe in this ambitious educational and social project, building on his
passion for football and his skills.
Two weeks ago, homeless people from all around the world heated up the atmosphere in
Poznan. This Polish city hosted the Homeless World Cup. Thanks to social networks, I could enthusiastically follow the
competition's highlights... And I was particularly paying attention to the
Bulgarian team.
I met Viktor Kirkov in Sofia thanks to a
happy coincidence. Viktor has always had a passion for football. He
made a first career as a sport journalist, then worked for sports'
advertisements and public relations. It is consequently not random that he
became the official Homeless World Cup's partner in Bulgaria.
Viktor was first contacted for
his expertise and his network. He accepted to give a helping hand to
prepare the application file. One thing leading to another, Viktor became the
only responsible of this unusual project.
Training the body and above all
the mind
In
August 2011, his application is accepted by the federation organizing the
Homeless World Cup. The young man has just founded his own firm, Sports
Management Bulgaria: he runs a sports complex for the municipality of Sofia and
deals with sports marketing. His job is to bring people to sports: amateurs,
but also media and firms. The challenge is somehow equivalent when it is about
working with homeless people...
Except
for a few key details. “At the beginning, everything was difficult”, Viktor
explains. He makes the residents of a temporary accommodation an offer to play
football twice a week for free. A first coach is recruited. And the 27
volunteer players (25 boys, 2 girls), aged between 19 and 28 years old, start
to learn the rules... of life. This means a real challenge for people who, until
now, nearly did not have any education.
The "Team of Hope" represents Bulgaria in Mexico City in 2012.
© Sports Management Bulgaria.
In Bulgaria, children left to
welfare services grow up in institutions with bad reputation. When he describes
this system, Viktor seems to lose his usual temper: “There, they deal with food
and hygiene, but no one talks to these children. No one cares about their minds. When they are 18, if they are not finished with school, they are allowed
to stay two more years. But when they turn 20, from one day to the next, they
are on the streets”.
For the first trainings, the
players do not really come on time. But, from one victory to another, they all
end up arriving too early for the training, although this training now takes
place in Viktor's far sports complex. For Viktor, performance is not the most
important: “We try to make them more disciplined, organised, responsible. It
is also important for them to learn how to help each other”.
To make progress, everyone should be happy
One can see results very quickly, even apart from the football field. Several team members find a job and, most importantly, manage to keep it. Some leave the temporary shelter and rent a flat. A young man enters university. They do not benefit from financial support, but they gain a benevolent supervision that encourages them to outdo themselves in all areas of life.
This first experience runs its course in Sofia. Meanwhile, Viktor builds up contacts in Plovdiv, Varna, Stara Zagora, Vratsa and Blagoevgrad. In these cities, trainings start as well. They are more or less successful, depending on the context.
Viktor with the team jersay, showing the main sponsor's logo while posing next to different personalities: the former Bulgarian sports minister Svilen Neykov (top left), Mel Young, president and founder of the Homeless World Cup (top right) and Peter Schmeichel, the former captain of Manchester United (bottom).
© Sports Management Bulgaria.
Thanks to his experience, Viktor
developed a highly efficient business model. He even explains it in a lecture to some
international colleagues: how to find attractive ambassadors, how to give
thrilling news to the media, how to create emulation... All of this to be able
to give back to the sponsors about 5 times their investment in advertisements.
“We try to make everyone happy”, sums up Viktor, who dedicates half of his time
to a social mission, which, he notices, has positive repercussions on his
sports complex. The coaches - who are now seven - are volunteers, but they have
some fringe benefits. Above all, they get the possibility to develop their
skills as the trainers of a national team.
Complementary education: love and freedom
Playing
football has a lot of strong collateral repercussions. To go further and to
maximise the impacts on the social integration of the youngsters, Viktor
launches other projects. Some of the players take part in an educational
program, which follows the suggestopedic method. This method
was invented by Georgi Lozanov, a Bulgarian psychologist, and was
positively evaluated by UNESCO in 1978. It aims to increase assimilation and
memorisation, particularly in order to learn foreign languages. It relies on a
positive group dynamic and fulfilling interactions. Viktor himself tried this
method and is convinced of its efficiency. “People get a free spirit and become
more creative... These youngsters, who did not receive any love until now, can change
everything in their life”.
Two
volunteers followed a training program about suggestopedia, and then
both taught the players for 25 hours. Viktor has a lot of ideas to find the
necessary funding to train new teachers. For instance, he is working with herbalists
on inventing and selling some healthy, balanced and energizing “great food”
that strengthens body and brain.
Bulgarian men's team wins the Poznan City Cup. © Sports Management Bulgaria.
Actually, although personal
fulfilment and social integration are the main goals of this project, sports
success can eventually happens. In 2013, while participating for the second
time in the World Cup, Bulgaria won one of the trophies, the Poznan City Cup.
In addition, a futsal (indoors football) team is being created in Sofia, with
the most talented players. The idea is to have, within two or three years, a
real professional team. A team which will represent Bulgarians, the ones with a
home as well as the homeless ones.
Impacts
In
2013, 70 young homeless men and 11 young homeless women practice football in 5
Bulgarian cities: Sofia, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora, Vratsa and
Blagoevgrad.
Little by little, the players
acquire new skills: regularity, respect, team spirit. They get back to a more
steady life (long-term job, accommodation, studies, etc.).
In August 2013, 26 players took
part in the Homeless World Cup in Poland. There they met youngsters from 69 other
countries.
Bridges
Between youngsters in extreme
precariousness and football, sports in general and the inhabitants of the
different affected cities, through media and social integration processes.
Between youngsters from all over
the world, who are currently experiencing or who used to have a very difficult
life.
Bulgarian and Polish women's teams, after the match. © Sports Management Bulgaria.
Viktor's lessons
The recipe for success: “To
succeed, one needs two things: love and discipline. I do not want to help these
people. I want to trigger opportunities that allow them to change on the long
term. When they are ready, life gives them a chance. Our role is to help them
to become “more” ready.
Find what makes you happy and do
it: “When I was younger, I supported one of the local Bulgarian teams, and that
made me really happy. Later, I lost this feeling when I discovered that not
everything was always so clear in the football world. Now, with my team, I have
this wonderful feeling again! The true reason is that I am happy to do what I
do”.
For more information, visit Sports Management Bulgaria's website, Homeless World Cup Bulgaria's Facebook Page and the general Homeless World Cup's Facebook Page.