Celebration of Christianity and football at Wembley
from Religion Media Centre:#
There’s been a growth in the number of Christians in football in the last ten years, according to Dr Graham Daniels, director of Christians in Sport. He was speaking at a “Faith and Football” event at Wembley, organised by the Football Association, as part of a series of celebrations of different faiths represented in the game, with the message that all are included.
So far there has been a Vasiakhi event for Sikhs, Itfar for Muslims and soon a Hannukah event for Jews. Yesterday’s gathering attracted some 400 people and was hosted by Adrian Chiles, who turned to Catholicism aged 40. He asked speakers including former players and many associated with the game, to explain what happened first in their lives, a love of football or Christian commitment, and they took the story on to say how faith was part of their footballing lives.
Chaplains and coaches agreed that being a Christian in football is about showing love and kindness rather than “shouting scripture at people”.
The afternoon event included a cameo appearance of Cardinal Vincent Nichols in his red Liverpool shirt, who spoke about the importance of belonging – in football and Christianity.
It ended with a service on the Wembley pitch side with a Salvation Army band, gospel choir and carols.
The afternoon was produced by Michael Wakelin, exec chair of the Religion Media Centre, and Dal Darroch, head of diversity and inclusion strategic programmes at the Football Association.
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