Soccer, sin and supplication

Spare a thought for God as the world moves into the second round.

While mere mortals would not wish to suggest that God is not capable of ensuring who will take the Cup, we do suspect that it’s a might confusing for Him or Her in Heaven at the moment.

For wherever there is soccer, God is not far away.

Who can forget the 1986 “Hand of God” goal!

Or the 1994 Cup. The headlines were: “Who will win: Jesus or Buddha?” Described as a “match that transcended mortality”, the final went into penalties. The Brazilian captain had scored after two misses by the Italians, and the pressure was on “the talisman of the Italian team”, Baggio, the Buddhist.

Taffarel, the Brazilian Christian goalie, waits and prays; Baggio shoots and misses, and “immediately the entire Brazilian squad gathers in the centrefield and says the Lord’s Prayer watched by a world audience of over one billion viewers”.

In Mexico, in 2006, the baby Jesus, stands before the altar dressed in number 12 with a soccer ball at his feet, and prayers ascend to heaven for victory.

Brazil never travels anywhere without their chaplain, who believes “that it would be suicidal to rely on ability alone”.

And Ghana players praise God for their victory over the USA.

Argentinean supporters carry a banner with the message, “The pope is German, but God is Argentine”. Saudi Arabia, in accord with their faith will refuse any “man of the match” awards, because the award comes in beer and not cash.

The faithful Jewish follower, has been warned to draw G-D’s attention to Iran because they have a “Holocaust denying president” and hence are not worthy of the Cup, to Italy, because “it’s the home of Mussolini and the fascists”, and finally to pray for a drubbing of “retrograde and reactionary” Saudi Arabia.

God gets used in mysterious ways.

The prayer of the current Brazilian team is not “God help us win the World Cup”, but … “Lord, whichever team brings you the most glory, may they win the World Cup”. Well if glory, has anything to do with numbers, then the South Koreans arrived in Germany, believing they were assured of the Cup. Lee Young-Pye, their defender said that previously they had only six Christians, in 2006 they have twelve.

The Church of England, produced not one, but two special prayers, and saw an unprecedented number of hits on their website. Officially they prayed that those, “who watch or engage find ... what it means to be made in the image of the One who played the cosmos into being”.

And how could God ignore the prayer which begins,

Our father whose heart is football

Hallowed be thy game

Thy England come

Thy will be done …

German churches see the Cup as a “grand evangelical opportunity”. The 64 games are being shown in about 16,000 church buildings; there’s a “740-hour central international prayer camp” and “sports balls for Christ”; and half time 15-minute prayer services for football fans. As well, German Christians are calling upon Christians around the world to pray “for a spiritual awakening in Germany”.

There are prayer books, prayer calendars and prayers for multi million dollar clubs and players, but hardly a thought for the 300,000 dead and six million displaced in Darfur!

In fact there’s a pervasive silence on any kind of evil and sin, let alone the evil that surrounds a World Cup.

The Council of Europe, however, warned that between 30,000 and 60,000 “women and girls will fall victim to forced prostitution and abuse during the World Cup”. A UN report on trafficking, lists “Germany as one of the top destinations for women …”

No special prayers from the Church of England for these women.

Nor for the Asian workers, exploited and abused, who provide the boots, the equipment, and the clothes, that the global sporting brands supply to teams and their supporters.

As the Brazilian team banks its $20 million cheque from Nike each year, does their chaplain pray and protest against the way Nike treats its workers?

Oxfam and the Global March against Child Labour vainly attempted to raise the issue but didn’t make it passed the first whistle.

When players drop to their knees in prayer, after yet another victory, there’s no doubt that it’s a good advert for God.

But one wonders does She see it that way?