Interfaith Football in Workday

19.03.2014 - 18:40

By: Ludwig Spirig-Huber
FC Weltreligionen Bern (FC World Religions Berne)

FC World Religions Berne, Switzerland, has met weekly since January 2014  – for common football matches at the moment still in a street football field in Bümpliz, from half past eight to ten in the evening. The weather is to us very mercifully, no snow, no nasty weather. The refugee from Somalia plays with the university professor, the marriage counsellor against the priest, the craftsman against the social worker. Sometimes it works technically brilliant (we are quite proud of us at such moments, anyhow), sometimes there are collisions and bad pass orgies – but we always play with mutual respect. An attitude which is important for the football ground as well as for the dialog of the religions.

And we plan the next months: a game against a team of a vocational training centre is arranged –their players date from different religions also (and perhaps they become more conscious of it when they play against us!), further games are in planning. At the celebration of the reformed-protestant church Berne on 30 August, 2014, we will present ourselves with street football (we need a terrific sponsor there, however!) – or goal wall shooting, and a lot of information about us and other interfaith activities in Berne.

However, we regret that contacts with the local super league club are difficult … they claim to have nothing to do with religion. Obviously it still needs much to show how helpful football can be for the interfaith conversation – and how much the spirit of a football team could be improved by taking each other´s religion seriously.

We stay at the topic to football and religions!

Ludwig Spirig-Huber
FC Weltreligionen Bern (FC World Religions Berne)