Photo: Rick Dikeman, from wikipedia.org, published
'I rather like the opening line: Lord of all the nations, who played the cosmos into being.'

There are many similarities between football and religion says Steve Tomkins - just look at the grief shown by fans when their country goes out of the World Cup

If you thought England didn't have a prayer in the world cup, you’d be wrong. They’ve got three, thanks to the Bishop of Croydon.

The Church of England has published three prayers, one for those directly involved, one for the host nation, and one to be used by “those not just not interested”.

I suppose the first two offer a jolly way to kick off proceedings for those hi-tech churches who have given over their audiovisual systems to screening England games, though it’s hard to imagine any circumstance the third might prove useful.

I rather like the opening line: Lord of all the nations, who played the cosmos into being.

I'm picturing God placing non-existence on the penalty spot and kicking it fabulously into the back of the net, an achievement only slightly undermined by the lack of a goalie, and by the philosophical and practical difficulties involved in kicking nothing.

Religion

The interesting thing about the CofE offering prayers to the world of soccer is that in so many ways it has become a religion, and prayer is one of the very few things it lacks.

Football has taken over almost all the patterns of British life that used to belong to Christianity. It provides the ritual of a weekend gathering – while the less committed can join in on TV – and the annual calendar of seasons and celebrations to shape out lives.

Football has inherited all the tribalism of religion, giving followers something to belong to, bringing nations and communities together, and uniting them against the enemy - whether in physical violence or just chant. It’s a group identity that parents try to pass on to their children.

It has liturgy ("They think it's all over..."), mysterious language (4-4-2, set pieces, sitting midfielders), songs of praise ("There's only one Wayne Rooney") - and the terraces have even commandeered the church's tunes.

There are holy mysteries for the initiated (the offside rule), and special clothes to set the professionals apart from the laity.

Football has its own mythic stories that believers tell to explain their identity and history. Christians have the garden of Eden and the first Easter, England fans have Wembley 1966.

Scarves

It’s is all a matter of faith. You can call it superstition – pre-match rituals and lucky scarves.

But if they’re going to succeed, strikers have to believe they will score, and who can blame a fan for insisting against all the evidence, “We're by far the greatest team the world has ever seen”.

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