Football-'More than life and death'

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Once again the football season is upon us, and like religion it inspires levels of passion and devotion most spiritual leaders can only dream about, and it might come as a surprise, but many of football clubs today, owe their existence to churches who in the 1800s work in socially deprived areas of Britain, and its in that soil that the game first took hold and flourished.

It was Victorian vicars who first saw the potential of football as a tool to steer young people away from alcohol and delinquency and towards Christian values. As a result, they embraced it, forming clubs that has become famous in the English football League: Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Barnsley, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City, Bolton Wanderers, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers.

The idea behind forming football clubs was a nineteenth century philosophy known as muscular Christianity—a belief that physical activity and moral development went hand in hand. Peter Lupson, a writer who has explored the relationship between football and the church, explains that virtues like courage, fair play, unselfishness, and self-control were seen as inherently Christian values, which are reflected in the elite public schools of —Rugby, Eton, Harrow, and universities like Oxford and Cambridge.

A compelling example of this church-football connection is the story of Barnsley football club. The club which began in 1887 as Barnsley St Peter’s, was founded by its Reverend, Tiverton Preedy. At the time, Barnsley was a struggling, overcrowded industrial town, plagued by poverty and alcohol abuse. As a way of helping to combat this, the church formed a football club to offer its young people, purpose and discipline during the winter months (cricket kept them occupied in summer), when they tended to be idle. The idea was not just about sport, but also about planting seeds of faith.

In 1893, the team joined the Sheffield and District League, winning its first trophy that same year. In that year also, Revd Tiverton left Barnsley to work at St Clement’s club in City Road Islington London, thereafter moving to White Lion Street in the Borough. A keen sportsman, and one who knew the transformative power of sport, Tiverton established boxing, and wrestling clubs, as a way of ministering to the people of the area, including those who sold fruits and flowers, in what was then the beginning of Chapel Market. Coincidentally, 71 White Lion Street—where Revd Preedy later served—would, decades later in 1967, become home to one of London’s first Black Pentecostal churches and the birthplace of the famous Inspirational Choir.

Coincidence or as some would believe -divine intervention- didn’t stop there, for today, the connection between Barnsley's Football Club and its roots in the local church community have not faded, finding new life through Bruce Dyer, who in 1994 became Britain’s first £1 million teenage footballer when he signed for Crystal Palace. Bruce is the son of the late George Dyer, a gospel music pioneer, and since retiring from football, he has embraced ministry. Today, Bruce, is the pastor of Love Life Ministries in Barnsley, with a vision to use sport to win souls. He as Revd Preedy once did, see sport as a path to faith, regularly running coaching sessions, teaching young people not only how to play football, but how to live their life with purpose.

Today football has changed, and its remarkable how many Black players play the game. Not too long ago they were almost entirely absent, both on the pitch and in the stands. Once they had to contend with racism in their clubs, from their teammates, on the terraces, and from opposing fans. Now football helps to heal, binds, unites, and many Black players are the heroes of their fans, wearing their names on the team shirts, applauding them as they score, defend brilliantly, and skilfully orchestrate the game from the mid-field.

There are now around 43% players in the English league who are Black, and there’s virtually no English club that doesn’t include a Black player, with some having the biggest names. Football has not only transformed Black players lives, they in return have transformed the clubs they've played for, helping them to become more inclusive, and because of the power and influence of football, helped foster good race relations in Britain.

Football is now a proven path for Black youngsters who want to enter the game, for their heroes are in it, doing well, unlike in the past when negative stereo types, racism and fear blocked their way. How did this happen, especially when the community Black Players came from has had little or limited tradition in playing the game? The answer lies in the pioneering work of several Black players, children of the Windrush Generation, among them, Cyrille Regis, Laurie Cunningham, Brendon Batson, and others who blazed the trail, triggering the transformation of the English Football League and to a large extent, British society.

It’s a pity churches don’t see, or they overlook the potential there is in naturing sport including football, as means of character building, serving the community and serving God. We live in a football, and sports obsessed age. Think how many people will be watching the World Cup next year in America. There is so much the church can do to tap into this devotion. It perhaps needs the skill, ability, leadership, vision, and devotion of someone like Bill Shankly, perhaps Liverpool’s greatest manager, who when commenting on his devotion to Liverpool, said:

“Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you, it's much more important than that."