Thank God for Football! The Illustrated Companion

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Williams, a referee and former coach, said: “It’s about making sure people all around the country and of all faiths and denominations feel welcome in football.” My Christian faith is based on making a difference, of serving that model we have of Jesus during his 33 years on this earth.”

When you go on the field you concentrate on the game but there’s so much more going on besides,” he added. A chaplain’s role was best summed as “pastorally proactive and spiritually reactive”.

Comparing that with religious belief, she added: “When you have religious belief, you’re a participant in something, you have those beliefs. Christianity calls upon you to act on those beliefs and, as a football fan, I’m called upon to not just watch but to really get behind the team.” While the influence of faith on football has sometimes been seen as divisive, many of the country’s clubs emerged from church groups, according to Peter Lupson, author of Thank God for Football. Published in 2006, his book charts the religious roots of many big clubs, among them Aston Villa and Barnsley. This is an unusual weekly devotional but I hope you share my encouragement that those of us who are seeking to represent Jesus Christ in football (or sport generally) are following in the footsteps of many generations. This week I attended the launch of Peter Lupson’s new book* on the Christian origins of football clubs at Liverpool Cathedral. These verses seem relevant.

But let us thank God for Rev Tiverton Preedy, founder of Barnsley St Peter’s Football Club, for John Ripsher, who ran a Bible Class at All Hallows Church, Tottenham and poured his life into the boys of the area and their football club or William Baker Pitt, curate of Christ Church, Swindon. Where would Barnsley FC, Tottenham Hotspur or Swindon Town be without them? Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for...By faith Abraham...was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Hebrews 11:1,2, 8,10 Mr Primus believes the Christian message of ‘love thy neighbour’ can help to stamp out racism in the stands.“How about finding out about that person next to you and understanding that shouting out racist terms or to discriminate isn’t right?” Matt Baker has been chaplain at Charlton Athletic since 2000 and is national director for England at Sports Chaplaincy UK. While footballing has a reputation as a glamorous career path, players often struggle to cope with the transition to life in the spotlight, he said.

Real Madrid star Eden Hazard sheds light on his relationship with Carlo Ancelotti

Ocr tesseract 5.0.0-1-g862e Ocr_detected_lang en Ocr_detected_lang_conf 1.0000 Ocr_detected_script Latin Ocr_detected_script_conf 0.9360 Ocr_module_version 0.0.14 Ocr_parameters -l eng Old_pallet IA-WL-2000075 Openlibrary_edition The FA says the project aims to make the game truly inclusive. Arran Williams, diversity and inclusion manager at the FA, told the webinar that other upcoming events include an Iftar and call to prayer at Wembley stadiumand events for Vaisakhi in the West Midlands. She said: “He has said very publicly that he’s driven by his personal experience of growing up in poverty but also by his faith.It isn’t just for the headlines. There are a lot of other players putting their faith into practice at a local level really quietly, but really brilliantly.” Of course no one in the 19th century set out to found a 21st century Premier League Club. Churches formed sports clubs, many existed for a short time and many remained church teams all their lives but a few evolved into professional clubs.

It is a little known fact that of the thirty seven clubs that have played in the English Premier League since its inception of the 92/93 season, twelve can trace their origin directly to a church. However, many of these famous football clubs know little about their origins or their founders. This book, which is the fruit of seven years intensive research, features chapters on: Aston Villa, Barnsley, Birmingham City, Bolton Wanderers, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Queen’s Park Rangers, Southampton, Swindon and Town Tottenham Hotspur. This book is a must read for football fans everywhere! About the Author Retired professional footballer Linvoy Primus, who played for Portsmouth, Reading and Charlton Athletic, saw a change in his career after he converted to Christianity.“Playing football was my dream, but at 27 or 28 I realised it wasn’t giving me everything I hoped it would give me,” he said. Peter Lupson interviews key players, including former professionals and managers, who share their personal experiences of how their Christian faith helped shape their careers. Lupson’s interviews reveal fascinating insights into how these individuals were able to reconcile their religious beliefs with the pressure and challenges associated with being a top-level footballer. urn:lcp:thankgodforfootb0000lups:epub:dffaac8b-2f56-49eb-b3cc-54091becceb1 Foldoutcount 0 Identifier thankgodforfootb0000lups Identifier-ark ark:/13960/s25hh602gdt Invoice 1652 Isbn 1902694309 Other Christian footballers who harness their faith as a power for good include poverty campaigner and Manchester United star Marcus Rashford, according to Hannah Rich, senior researcher at Theos think tank.So that’s what we’re doing in football, and that’s why we’re having sessions like today … because I think faith alongside football, makes a great community.” The church and football complement each other really well,” he told the briefing, saying that he regularly discussed the sport with parishioners of all ages. He still plays and even captains the Archbishop of Canterbury’s football team, which in the coming weeks will compete against teams from The Times, the Vatican and the Swiss Guards. Now an initiative organised by the Football Association hopes to show that a dedication to the sport can work hand in hand with faith groups to enhance the game’s reputation — on and off the pitch. Strong affiliations in football have sometimes been linked to religious rivalries, but Ms Pepinster hopes such sectarianism is disappearing. Catherine Pepinster, a journalist specialising in religious affairs and an avid Brentford fan, said: “You’re not passive when you watch football, you’re not a bystander. You are a participant.”