South African President Thabo Mbeki on Sunday led a parade in salute for the nearly 500 drug addicts, alcoholics, orphans and vagrants participating in the 48-nation Homeless World Cup football tournament.

The week long event is aimed at helping society's most marginalized make a new start in life.

Amid the cheers of thousands of spectators, event organizer Mel Young said, "We really can help change the world, end poverty and homelessness.''

"All we have to do is take a little round ball and start kicking it around.''

The proposal to stage street football tournament started in Cape Town in 2001 after an international meeting of editors of street newspapers like The Big Issue, which is sold by the homeless in Britain, Australia, Namibia and South Africa.

Organizers said that the rationale behind the event is to install a sense of pride and discipline in the players through being part of a team and to help them overcome problems in their regular lives.

Event organizers added that of the players in last year's tournament in Edinburgh, Scotland, 94 percent reported a new motivation in life, 62 percent were coping better with alcohol and drug dependency, 40 percent had improved their housing situation, 38 percent held regular jobs and 28 per cent resumed their education.

Organizers even cited the case of Tracey Ford, a 34-year-old Australian woman, who was homeless for four years after losing her house as a result of drug addiction. She then became a street paper vendor and trained with Street Socceroos of Melbourne before taking part in the 2005 contest.