STREET CHILD CRICKET WORLD CUP 2023

India Will Host Street Child Cricket World Cup 2023

     India will host Street Child Cricket World Cup 2023 (SCCWC 2023) to champion the rights of street children world worldwide. The event will be organised by Save the Children India (Bal Raksha Bharat) and Street Child United, the 10-day event, which will be held in September, will have 22 teams from 16 countries participating in it. In addition to the partnership between Street Child United and Save the Children the SCCWC 2023 will be a collaboration of efforts with several other supporting organisations and individuals including the World Bank, ICC and the British High Commission. The event will have street-connected children and young people take part in a mixed-gender cricket tournament, a festival of arts and a congress to champion the rights of street children worldwide.

      The SCCWC 2023 will be the second edition of the tournament following the success of the inaugural event in London/Cambridge 2019, where eight teams competed and Team India South emerged victorious after beating hosts England in a highly competitive final. The winners will come back in 2023 to defend their title alongside seven other teams from India who will represent organisations from across different regions of the country. They will be joined by teams from Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Burundi, England, Hungary, Mauritius, Mexico, Nepal, Rwanda, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

    The objective of the SCCWC is much more than just a cricket tournament. It is a global platform that gives street children an opportunity to connect, share their experiences and present their demands of human rights to the world – the right to identity, access education, protection from violence, access health care and other fundamental rights that the world’s estimated 150 million street children are often deprived of. The event will have a central focus on ‘identity’ and the access to services that come with a formal ID and/or birth registration.

     Street Child United is a UK- based charity with a unique and proven model for delivering social impact – using the power of sport to provide a global platform for street children to be seen and their voices heard. Ahead of the world’s biggest sporting competitions, they organize international sports events for street children to change the way young people like them are seen and treated across the globe. Save the Children works across 20 states of India and in 120 countries, on issues related to education, health, protection and humanitarian/DRR needs of children, especially for those who are the most deprived and marginalized. Save the Children’s association with India is more than 80 years old. 

    The ten-day event will be a congregation of young street-connected children from across the globe, who, by representing their countries at an international sporting event, demonstrate their grit and spirit of “I am somebody”. Desirous of bringing global attention to the status of vulnerable children in their countries, these children will also advocate for their rights and protection through a child-focused Congress and General Assembly, here in India. This is also an opportunity to drive global and country-level commitments for the rights of street-connected from the participating countries. As India gears up to unite the world on this historic event, the event, along the way, aims to engage with young leaders, youth advocates, influencers, public figures, sportspersons, organizations, and other partners, who will encourage these children with their support.