The Street Child Cricket World Cup Final will be held at Lord’s Cricket Ground on Tuesday, 7th May 2019.
Taking place ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup which is being held in England and Wales this summer, Street Child United’s inaugural Street Child Cricket World Cup will unite street-connected children from across the world in London and Cambridge to play an international cricket tournament, and campaign for their rights and protection.
The Street Child Cricket World Cup 2019 aims to change the way that young people who live on the streets are seen and treated. The event does this by creating a global platform for these young people, and organisations that support them, to campaign from.
The event will take place in early May, with two days of cricket at Parker's Piece, a municipal park in Cambridge, before the Finals Day which will be held at Lord’s.
Around 80 street-connected young people from across the world will represent their country, playing matches in the Street 20 format; a version of cricket designed to be played in communities where normal facilities for playing the game aren’t easily accessible.
All the teams involved, ten of them in total from a range of countries, will play on the hallowed turf at Lord’s, leading to the final of the tournament later on in the day.
Street Child United having been holding sporting events since 2010, when they mirrored the FIFA World Cup in South Africa with a Street Child World Cup. They replicated their success in Brazil in 2014 and Russia in 2018, whilst also holding a Street Child Games before the Rio Olympics in 2016.
Last year’s Street Child Football World Cup in Moscow resulted in seven teams being able to progress their campaigns to their respective governments. The tournament reached a global audience of approximately 300 million people.
Alongside the cricketing action, the young people involved will participate in a unique Model UN Congress for street children’s rights, acting as ambassadors addressing the specific issues they face and making recommendations to protect street children’s rights worldwide to achieve lasting change.
Guy Lavender, Chief Executive & Secretary of Marylebone Cricket Club said:
“We are delighted to welcome the Street Child Cricket World Cup 2019 to Lord’s in May. As an organisation, Street Child United have done some fantastic work with their previous sporting tournaments and we are proud to be playing our part in their latest endeavours.
“It is a real example of how the power of cricket can contribute to changing people’s lives and we are sure that the event will be a great success and help to inspire many others.”
Sir John Major, Street Child Cricket World Cup Patron said:
“What better place to demonstrate our commitment to improving the circumstances of these young people than the world-famous cathedral of cricket, Lord’s.
“The momentous act of playing there is a powerful symbol of the importance of the message the young people will deliver during their World Cup and will be heard across the world.”
Nisha, aged 16, will play for Nepal at the Street Child Cricket World Cup. She said:
“I am very excited to be selected as one of the players to represent my country at the Street Child Cricket World Cup. I consider myself very lucky to be able to travel to England with my friends to play cricket and this is a huge opportunity for me to express myself and I'm looking forward to speaking about the issues we face.”
"Sport has the power to bring nations together - it is truly a force for unity"
- Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara, Street Child United Ambassador and MCC World Cricket Committee Member said:
“Sport has the power to bring nations together - it is truly a force for unity.
“That is why I’m supporting the Street Child Cricket World Cup in London 2019, using our shared passion for cricket to enable some of the world’s most disadvantaged and marginalised children to show their talents, make their voices heard and celebrate the potential of every child, no matter their background.”