While England’s World Cup dreams may have ended in heartbreak, the tournament has been full of signs of hope: players sharing their faith in Jesus Christ. There is encouragement that this may continue into the domestic season, as a new study suggests there has been a sea change in the faith landscape of football.
Three in four professional teams in England have Christian players in their first team squads, according to a report from Christians in Sport and Eido Research.
Bible studies or prayer meetings were hosted at two in five of the clubs from the Premier League to the National League North and South. That figure rose to half among those in the top flight.
Dr Graham Daniels, general director of Christians in Sport, told Premier Christian News it was “thrilling” that more players were living out their faith in an environment where their identity is under constant test by success and scrutiny. He also believed this was having a wider cultural impact on fans and media around the sport.
“It’s become normal to speak of Christianity and football,” Daniels said, comparing it to a decade ago when players would not speak out out of fear “that you would undermine the male football culture: that if all the team aren't in on the same activities and the same behaviors all the time, then it breaks team spirit.”
Players said they faced three challenges: a clash between dressing room culture and living as a Christian; dealing with public scrutiny; and the isolation in establishing or maintaining relationships.
More than a third of clubs had player-run Christian activities, which Daniels said could take the pressure off believers when inviting their teammates. He added that team chaplains had “created an environment where clubs trust [them] and therefore trust Christianity, trust the gospel”, which is now being complemented by player-to-player support networks.
One Championship club had 14 players regularly attending a Bible study, with a National League South side having 12.
Alongside this openness, Daniels believed there were new challenges in discipling players and fans who were new to faith: “You're adopting the beliefs of famous athletes on Instagram, or maybe [following] the role model of one strong believer in your changing room, who is still a young man who might be relatively untaught or even unchurched.”