A Craigslist D.C. entry titled “Part Time work for a real go-getter” seeks to hire someone to help infiltrate something the author calls homeless football:

Are you aware that certain Washington insiders have an underground football league that is made up entirely of homeless people? The location of the game changes weekly and the homeless participants are sworn to secrecy. They do not wear pads and some of them get really hurt. I have been to the games before and it is disgusting. Last week I witnessed the “Lott Lynchers” take on the “Gingrich Gangbangers”.

The successful job applicant would be asked to “infiltrate these games by pretending that you are homeless and hopefully get a game on video.”

An underground homeless football league in the nation’s capital hard to believe? A quick Google search later, and it does seem homeless football is real – the second annual “Homeless World Cup” ended yesterday in Sweden, after Italy captured the winning trophy from last year’s winner Austria. Far from exploitative, the tournament is organized by charitable organizations hoping to highlight the problem of poverty and homelessness and help individuals build better lives. The BBC reported last week the conference organizer said the football is “pure therapy for those taking part, because football has a magic effect [on participants]” saying 49 participants of last year’s tournament are on their way to “turning their lives around.” According to the tournament website, the only American team to compete was “The New Yorkers.”

All of this doesn’t, however, solve the mystery of the Craigslist post. Is the football in question a hoax? Is it actually harmless, connected to the global organization – or instead some sort of sinister spin-off?