‘The Soul of Football’ is a new book from Mark Chester of Who Let the Dads Out. One man’s story of football, family and faith by Mark Chester
- Cloning Jamie Carragher
- Lionel Messi’s mistakes
- It’s all Wayne Rooney’s fault…
… are just three of the issues BRF’s Who Let The Dads Out? founder Mark Chester reflects on in his new book The Soul of Football.
You only have to listen to a match commentary or read game reports to know that football has a unique and widely accepted language quite unlike any other. Could that language be used to explore the deeper issues of life and faith and spark conversations with football fans across the UK and beyond?
In this book of two halves Mark delves into his footballing story of success and dreams of success, of the joys of winning and the sadness of one of the worst football stadium disasters in history at Hillsborough. This is a story of a long search for the soul of football, its true essence and its essential and emotional nature – a search he very nearly did not conclude.
In the second half, ‘Soccer soul’, Mark weaves together his football and faith experiences, using the language of football learnt so well over the years to begin to explore 15 key areas of the Christian faith.
Football offers us great enjoyment, whether to school kids playing in a park with jumpers as goal posts or to crowds watching a vital game in one of our mega stadia. Winning seems to bring most happiness, but for those who look deeper, football offers more: a chance to contribute to a team; an opportunity to improve on one’s best, to win by playing the right way, to be tested by the challenge the opposition provides; and the possibility of learning lessons in the present for use in the future. This book gets beyond the surface of football, and reminds us that we need to get beyond the surface of life, too. Revd John K. Boyers, Chaplain, Manchester United
Read a sample chapter…
Find out more and buy.
Available for Kindle Jan 2015
Find out more about Who Let The Dads Out?, a BRF (Bible Reading Fellowship) ministry to dads, father figures and their children www.wholetthedadsout.org.uk
