The two young leaders, both alumni of Street Child United (SCU), presented the United Declaration of Street Child World Cup 2026 – a document built around football and around the campaign message “I Am Somebody”.
A pitch, not a shame party
Mrs. Richards grew up navigating difficulties at home that took a toll on her mental health and left her in risky situations at times.
Street Child United’s Samantha Richards addresses a UN meeting on football and mental health.
Football changed that trajectory. “Growing up, I had some difficulties at home,” she said. “But soccer gave me friendships, leadership skills and an opportunity to speak up.”
Through SCU, she met other soccer players chasing an education and followed them — becoming the first in her family to earn a college degree. “Sports is a catalyst for mental health advocacy and it’s ok to speak up when you struggle like I did,” she said.
Mrs. Hifume’s route to New York started in the Philippine foster care system, where isolation bred sadness and loneliness.
“In foster care, it’s so easy to think you’re nothing more than a foster child,” she said. SCU gave her something else: a team to lead, a stage to speak from and eventually a scholarship to study in the US and a PhD offer from Oxford University. “Football gave me the gift of being curious about the rest of the world outside the game,” she said.
Twenty-eight teams, a statement
The declaration itself was forged far from UN corridors, in Oaxtepec, Mexico, where 28 teams competed in this year’s Street Child World Cup.
Delegates from each side drafted and approved the text at the tournament, distilling their demands into five priorities: legal identity, education, protection from violence, gender equality and a real influence on decisions that affect their lives.
SCU is part of the UN’s Football for the Goals initiative, which uses the sport to promote the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Bringing the declaration to New York – which co-hosted the World Cup final – just days after Ms Richards spoke on a panel in the General Assembly Hall, gave the grassroots process rare access to a global stage.
The Street Child United organization created the Street Children’s World Cup. The event brings together children in vulnerable situations to play sports in the same city or continent where the official World Cup takes place.
No longer invisible
For Mrs Richards, the moment closed a loop. “Standing in the Hall of Flags and the General Assembly wasn’t just about me,” she said. “It was about every young person who has ever been made to feel invisible. Through football I found my voice and today we showed that our voices belong in these spaces.”
Mrs. Hifume framed it as an argument for investment rather than neglect. “This declaration is about making sure every street child knows they matter,” she said. “When we invest in children, they become leaders.”
Both insist the real test starts now, when the applause in the Hall of Flags fades.
They want governments and agencies to treat the declaration’s five demands as a checklist, not a souvenir, and continue to listen to street-connected children well beyond the tournament that produced it.
As Ms Richards put it, the declaration rests on a simple recognition: “we are all somebody”.
Members of Street Child United visit the UN headquarters.
