India is set host 22 teams across 16 countries in the second edition of the Street Child Cricket World Cup in 2023. According to reports, Street Child United and Save the Children, India (Bal Raksha Bharat) will collaborate to organize this 10-day cricket event that will see promising street-connecteds children and youngsters compete in a mixed-gender tournament.

India will host the Street Child Cricket World Cup in 2023. (Source – TOI)

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Team india South won the inaugural 2019 SCCWC against England

The inaugural edition of the SCCWC was held in 2019 across London and Cambridge, where Team India South were able to overcome hosts England in a closely contested final. The 2023 season of the tournament will see an expansion in the number of teams from 8 to 22. Countries like Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico, and Hungary- who are yet to feature in any major ICC tournaments- will also be sending teams to play in this exciting tournament.

The SCCWC serves an important goal of promoting social awareness for the welfare of street-connected children. Besides the usual, high-intensity cricketing action, the SCCWC also offers street children a major opportunity to connect and share their experiences with the world. It is a sporting avenue for underprivileged children to demand for basic human rights; like the right to access education, right to protection from violence, right to access health care, and several other human rights that approximately 150 million children in the world do not get access to.

SCCWC’s focus on formal identity and birth registration

This year’s World Cup will have a central focus on identity and the services that are enabled by a formal ID/ birth registration. The event will be formally recognized by the International Cricket Council (ICC), and will feature collaborations between institutions like the World Bank and the British High Commission.

Sudarshan Suchi, CEO of Save the Children, India, resonated with the theme of identity for street children while expressing his happiness in the fact that India will get to host this special tournament. “Every child deserves an identity, and thus we are committed to make the ‘Invisibles’ visible and bring them into the mainstream.

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“The idea of sports, and in that cricket becoming the pivot, is an opportunity we are excited about as we host the Street Child Cricket World Cup here in India and show the world what a powerful vehicle sport in general and cricket in particular can be in helping drive the change we want to create for these young people,” Suchi said.