They may not have nice homes or expensive cars but for the players representing their countries at the Homeless World Cup, the tournament is helping to rebuild their lives.

The annual competition gives homeless people the opportunity to show that they can do things just as well as any other person.

I attended the event in Paris and was very impressed by the skill level of each and every player from the 64 teams taking part.

Some of the 48 nations also had women’s teams, which were entered into a separate tournament.

In the exhilarating 15-minute-long games the teams consist of one goalkeeper and three outfield players, who can be substituted at any time. All of the teams were cheered on by an enthusiastic crowd as they battled it out for the eight trophies up for grabs.

The Scottish founder Mel Young told me: “It’s a marathon process; each team can still win a trophy at the end of the week.” Mel Young went home a happy man as the Scottish team took the men’s trophy, with Kenya securing the women’s.

They will defend their titles in Mexico 2012 for the 10th Homeless World Cup.