The teams are made up of homeless people

The players, who up until now have been playing in separate teams in Swansea and Cardiff, are uniting to form Wales' first street football team.

The team is being supported by homeless social businessThe Big Issue, and is to receive professional training from sports experts at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff.

They are training for the competition in Austria in July, which has been organised by the International Network of Street Papers.

The sport, which is popular in many developing countries, has a squad of eight, with four players including a goalkeeper on the pitch at any one time.

Professional training will start in May

Over 20 teams are taking part in the UEFA-backed tournament, including representatives from Brazil, Australia and Wales' nearest rivals England.

Big Issue Cymru director Su West said: "We have been practising in two teams in Swansea and Cardiff.

"It's taken us a while to get the team together.

"But now the commitment's grown, we're moving on to a full team," she explained.

Hopefuls for the team consist of a mixture of Big Issue sellers and people staying in hostels in Swansea, Cardiff and Newport.

There is a wide spread of ages, from people in their teens up to a player of 38.

Professional training will start at UWIC in May, and an initial squad of 15 will be narrowed down to a final eight in time for the contest.

Ms West said commitment would be a factor as well as playing ability.

She is hoping the knowledge that the English team is being coached by Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson will provide a spur to the Welsh team to do their best.