Homeless men from Calgary will be playing high-stakes soccer on the August long weekend, vying for a chance to compete in South Africa at the Homeless World Cup.

The qualifying matches will be held in Winnipeg, where players from Toronto and Calgary will compete for spots on Canada's national homeless soccer team.

John Gagnon, a player with the Calgary Downtown Dawgs, said playing soccer has helped him build confidence.

"When you're on the street you have no confidence. There's nothing there. You don't want to work, you don't want to do nothing," he said.

"I've thought about doing myself in so many times it's not even funny, and this soccer has helped me."

Hope and empowerment

Sixteen players from the Calgary and Toronto teams will compete for eight spots on Canada's national team. To qualify, players must have been homeless in the last year.

Paul Gregory, the Toronto-based coach of the Canadian squad, said he works with homeless shelters to locate potential players. He said the tournament is an empowering experience for the players who have been living in dire and chaotic circumstances.

The Homeless World Cup movement was founded in 2001.

This year's international tournament will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, from Sept. 23-30. Homeless players from 48 countries are expected to compete.

Canada's national team relies on private donations and needs to raise as much as $25,000 for this year's trip.