Two University of Ottawa business students have received a grant to train homeless men as soccer referees.

Tanveer Mostafa and Wendy Liang were awarded $1,000 from the Ottawa chapter of the Awesome Foundation, a philanthropic association "devoted to forwarding the interest of awesomeness in the universe."

"We want to help these guys move away from the label of being homeless and more as just a soccer referee," Liang said. "We want to help them pick themselves back up."

The students will be offering certification clinics to people already playing with Ottawa Street Soccer beginning on Feb. 28. Referee instructors from the Eastern Ontario District Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association will be donating their time to help run the clinics.

Most of the men involved in Ottawa Street Soccer are homeless and living in shelters.

"If their interest is within soccer, then why don't we take advantage of that interest and allow them to continue with that in the form of being referees?" Mostafa said.

Making crucial calls on a contested plays will tests and strengthen their confidence, Liang said.

"If you're able to manage this high level of pressure from countless players, coaches and even parents, these referees will be able to put these skills toward any sort of job," Liang said.

Liang and Mostafa will also offer workshops on financial planning in the spring.