A Q&A with Kicking It director Susan Koch

In the documentary film Kicking It, director Susan Koch explores a sports league most of us have never heard of: the Homeless World Cup. With an introduction from Colin Farrell, the film delves into addiction treatment centers, slums and soup kitchens in six countries around the world as team organizers put together squads to represent their countries in the international street soccer competition. As the homeless athletes train, they come together to kick drugs and alcohol, find a new sense of community, and represent their countries. In the end, eight players from each participating nation — 500 players in all — make a journey of a lifetime. Below, Koch tells us more about Kicking It and the tournament itself. — Rebecca Harper, Hulu.com

Hulu: Out of the 500 players, how did you choose which subjects to cover in the documentary? How did you choose which countries to follow?
Koch: Choosing first the countries and then the individual players was one of the toughest parts of making this film. We wanted to go everywhere. Every player had an amazing story. In the end, we based our decisions on geographical diversity as well as finding characters that reflected the different reasons for homelessness. We had 48 countries to choose from. In the end, we settled on Afghanistan, Kenya, the U.S.A., Russian, Spain and Ireland. I wish we could have gone everywhere!

Are you still in touch with any of the players? Coaches?
Yes, I still hear from the players and coaches. I was thrilled to get an email from the Afghan coach in December, letting me know they won the most recent Homeless World Cup that took place in Melbourne, Australia. The final match came down to Russia and Afghanistan, two teams we had featured in the film. The Russian coach came to the U.S. for our screenings last year at the Tribeca Film Festival. It was an amazing experience for all of us to have him there. After the screenings, he went to Charlotte, North Carolina and spent time with the U.S. Team and their manager, Lawrence Cann. There are now over a dozen U.S. teams and that’s been great to see. Lawrence has done an amazing job with the U.S. Homeless World Cup and organizing teams all over the country.
 

How do the homeless find out about this program, and what are the qualifications to try out?
The players find out about the Homeless World Cup in many ways. The word literally goes out on the streets. Others hear about it at homeless shelters and soup kitchens. There’s outreach and word travels fast. Last year, there were over 50,000 players throughout the world trying out for the teams. Every team (country) has different qualifications. But all the players have been homeless for a significant period of time. 


The film didn’t delve too deeply into the training aspect, but for how long do the teams train? Since the players were homeless, how did this affect their health and fitness?
Every country is different. Many teams train for a year and select the final “travel team” of eight players that will go to the international competition about a month or two prior to the event. In this way, many more players benefit from the experience. It’s not just the players that ultimately make the trip to the international competition. Just being a part of the training makes a big difference in terms of the players improving both their mental and physical health. They gain discipline, become part of a community, kick drugs and alcohol, gain self confidence, and learn to work together as a team. These are skills that help them on and off the pitch.
 

Each of the games had a strong turnout — crowds, even. Did you interview any of the people watching the competition? Was there a charge for admission to watch the game?
Soccer (football) is the most popular sport in the world, and the Homeless World Cup has been growing in popularity. The games are competitive and exciting to watch. All of the fans we talked to loved watching the matches — and as you see in the film, it was great for the players to be treated like “professional athletes," complete with all the adoring fans. The fans didn’t think of them as homeless as they watched the matches, and the players in turn began to see themselves in a new light.
 

At some point, Saul says “We all need to feel like winners...” What happened to the teams that ended up losing a majority of the games? How did it affect each player and the overall team spirit?
Saul’s team, the Spanish, only won one game. And as you see in the film, winning was more than what happened on the pitch. The players felt like winners in all they had accomplished in just getting to Cape Town, and then in the friendships they made there, and the experiences they had. Of course, it was great that the Spanish won that one game. The U.S. team also won just a few (three) games, but they finally came together as a team. It was a life-changing experience for the players, and in turn they were able to reach out to others upon their return.
 

Is there a similar program like this for homeless women?
Women participate in the Homeless World Cup, and this year there was actually a tournament just for women. The first Women’s Homeless World Cup was held in Melbourne in December 2008. It featured 100 women from eight nations, and was won by the team from Zambia.
 

Were the subjects able to watch the film? How did they receive it?
Yes, the subjects have been able to watch the film. All of the feedback has been great and that’s always gratifying. A few saw it for the first time with an audience in the theatre, and I know that all of us were nervous as to how they would react seeing themselves on the big screen, but they loved it! They also loved the actual experience of seeing it with an audience and seeing how much the audience related to them and admired them. 


How did you get involved with this subject?
In February of 2006, I was on the Internet reading a blog from the World Economic Forum in Davos. There was a brief mention of something called the Homeless World Cup. I was instantly intrigued. As a filmmaker, I’m always on the lookout for stories that are entertaining, off the beaten track and about something important. The more I looked into it, the more interested I became. While it sounds bizarre at first, when you stop to think about it, many of the world’s best soccer players come from the streets.

How did Colin Farrell get involved?
Colin Farrell saw a cut of the film and was interested in getting involved. My producer, Ted Leonsis, then met with him. Colin was a great fit. His father was a professional footballer in Ireland, and Colin grew up playing football. He knows firsthand the power of sports to change lives. And of course, he was thrilled that we featured the Irish team.


What challenges did you face while filming Kicking It?
There are always challenges to making a film, and this was no exception. One of the hardest parts was wanting to feature more players, but realizing we simply didn’t have the time to do that. As it is, we featured seven players from six countries. I didn’t want to drop any of them as each one told a different part of the global story of homelessness. We also wanted to cover the matches as real sports events, and this meant having three or four cameras on the matches. With as many as 20 matches a day, this was a lot to coordinate, not to mention film. We also wanted to film the moments that happened off the pitch. 


What do I hope audiences take away from this film?
I hope audiences find themselves rooting for the players — both on the pitch and in their lives. I also hope they come away with a renewed sense of our common humanity and global community. I hope they see homeless people, as I do, in a different light — and are moved to do something for the 1 billion people living homeless in the world today. 

I saw firsthand the tremendous power of sports to change lives. Everywhere we went, there was a willingness on the part of homeless men and women to share their stories and lives. We were struck by how proud the players were to be wearing the colors of their country — despite the fact that they were living on the very edge of society.

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