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The Power of Football at the Street Child World Cup
Football is where every Street Child World Cup begins.
Long before the Congress sessions, the arts workshops or the General Assembly, it's the football that brings our teams together in the first place. It's the reason 280 young people from 20 countries travelled to Mexico City this May, ready to wear their country's colours and compete on a global stage.
The football at Street Child World Cup 2026 was competitive, inspiring and fiercely contested, with young people competing for far more than a trophy - for visibility, and for national pride.
From Oaxtepec to Texcoco
Teams began their journey at the Athletes' Village in Oaxtepec, Morelos, where they competed in classification and group stage matches. As the tournament progressed, the strongest performers went through to the knockout rounds, with the semi-finals and finals moving to Parque Ecológico Texcoco in Mexico City.
By the end of the week, Brazil (Street Child United Brazil) were crowned champions of the Boys' Cup, while Team Mexico Girls (Mas Sueños A.C.) made history as the first Mexican team to win the Girls' Cup. Indonesia (Yayasan KDM) lifted the Boys' Shield, and Brazil (Em Busca de Uma Estrela) claimed the Girls' Shield, capping off a week of exceptional skill, determination and teamwork.
We loved hearing from Julia, from Team Mexico Girls and this year's SCWC winner, who told us:
"Soccer is a place where I can feel good about myself, have fun, and build new, lasting friendships. It means a lot to me."
A stage built for more than football
The finals gave the tournament's wider message a fitting stage. Members of U2 joined us, with Larry Mullen Jr. performing the ceremonial coin toss before the first final on the Bank of America pitch.
Surrounding the field were eight transformed school buses, echoing the spirit of Bank of America's Soccer at Schools campaign. Each one had been painted with demands and messages from our young people - "I Am Somebody", "Never give up on your dreams", "Equality brings unity", "Less aggression, more football, more love". Ringing the pitch, they turned the football into something bigger: a declaration that street-connected young people are here, and they deserve to be seen, heard and listened to.
Told through every match
For our young people, the impact of the football went well beyond the scoreline. Every match created a platform to express identity, showcase potential, and challenge the perceptions that too often define how street-connected young people are seen by society.
Marchello, from Team USA Boys (DC Scores), put it best:
"The fact that they can come together means that the whole world could come together if we really tried. Because this whole event is about overcoming our differences and explaining what's going on in our country."
And for Nicolly, from Team Brazil Girls (Em Busca de Uma Estrela), football has changed the way she sees everything:
"The people I've met through football are very important people in my life, and they've given me a different way of looking at the world. I think I used to live in a bit of a bubble, and then football came along and completely changed the way I see the world, and today I'm a much better person."
Why it matters
At the Street Child World Cup, we never measure success in goals alone.
We measure it in the friendships made on the pitch. In the confidence built match by match. In every young person who left Mexico City, having proven to themselves and to everyone watching that they are somebody.
That's the power of football at Street Child United. And it's why, long after the final whistle, what it builds carries on.
