It's not called the world game for nothing.
On Monday, almost 500 homeless people from around the globe marched through Melbourne to kickstart the Homeless World Cup which, organisers say, is the perfect platform to tackle one of the world's biggest social challenges.
Competitors from 56 nations, including eight women's teams participating in the first Women's Homeless World Cup, will play 349 matches over the week-long tournament.
But it wasn't a great start for the host nation in the event's opening match.
Australia's Street Socceroos were beaten 3-0 by 2004 champion Austria before a crowd of 2500 in Federation Square in central Melbourne.
Results off the pitch, however, are what count, says Steven Persson, tournament director and chief executive of The Big Issue Australia.
Mr Persson said the event was a catalyst for change in the lives of individuals as well as in attitudes towards the problems associated with homelessness.
He added criticism of the money spent on organising the event was misguided, given its success in turning lives around.
"People are going to have their own view in life and we respect that. For us, it's about investment - this is an investment in not only social change but also makes sense in dollars and cents," he said.
The cost to the community in not helping homeless people was as much as $35,000 in terms of factors like police time and providing healthcare, Mr Persson told AAP.
"For every person we take off the street we're not only helping their lives, we're actually making a sensible investment strategy, and I think most people from the business community understand that," he said.
With the amount of change that this event creates, it pays for itself repeatedly, not only in Australia but on a worldwide basis.
"What better than the world game? It's an amazing thing, it talks all languages, it transcends politics and all those things we get caught with in our day to day life," Mr Persson said.
The week-long tournament, being played on purpose-built pitches in Melbourne's Federation Square and Birrarung Marr on the banks of the Yarra River, involves teams of four playing games of two seven-minute halves, with each team playing 13 games before the finals round.
To qualify, participants have to have been homeless since July 2007, or be receiving drug or alcohol rehabilitation or be an asylum seeker.
Following the 2007 Homeless World Cup in Copenhagen, a survey of players revealed 38 per cent improved their housing situation; 32 per cent went into education, while 29 per cent found a job.
In other games on the opening day, defending champion Scotland was held to a 5-5 draw by Afghanistan, while Lithuania and Ukraine drew 6-6.
