As Soccer Moses, Jars of Clay Guitarist Stephen Mason Finds Unexpected Joy
The rocker who became a barber said soccer is a bit like life — sometimes sad, other times glorious.
Morocco’s Benzina Becomes the First Senior-Level Women’s World Cup Player to Compete in Hijab
A FIFA ban on playing in religious head coverings for “health and safety reasons” was overturned in 2014 after advocacy from activists, athletes, and government and soccer officials.
France’s Highest Administrative Court Says the Soccer Federation Can Ban Headscarves in Matches
The ruling is likely to refuel the lingering debate on secularism — still volatile more than a century after the 1905 law on separation of church and state that established it as a principle of the French Republic.
Unsettling Advent 2022, Day 22
John Sianghio writes that we find hope in strange and unexpected places. There is something about sports, something about the stories of players like Hakimi and his mother, that captures the hearts and minds of the world and pierces our souls with its poignancy.
Blowing the Whistle on the World Cup
In this edition of A Public Witness, we’ll coach you up on the history of the men’s World Cup and the particular details around the 2022 tournament in Qatar that begins in just a few days — and we’ll explain why the penalty cards should
Being a ‘Greg’ helps enlighten life (and soccer)
I was at a Baptist meeting a couple of weeks ago, rooming with a former colleague from another state for the two nights I was in Atlanta. Greg told me he had become a fan of the World Cup soccer competition in progress, especially since
Soccer chaplain to manage faith presence in Olympic Village
John Boyers' gig at the Summer Olympics—managing chaplains in the athletes' Olympic Village—might seem sensational until a visitor sees his normal digs --Old Trafford, one of the world's most visited stadiums.
Soccer league opens church door for family
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (ABP) -- When the soccer season sponsored and funded by First Baptist Church in Kannapolis, N.C., wound down, Chris and Jennifer Roman realized they were going to miss the new friends they found while mingling with church families at the soccer field.
Soccer pulls church into community ministry
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (ABP) -- Charles Cannon built First Baptist Church in Kannapolis, N.C., when Cannon Mills provided both engine and fuel for the aging textile town 27 miles north of Charlotte. He wanted a good church for his workers, so he had First Baptist