SPORTS AND SPIRITUALITY : WHEN TALENT DOESN’T FEEL LIKE ENOUGH. THE QUESTIONS NIGERIAN FOOTBALLERS ASK
By Pastor Joseph Andishu
There is a question many young Nigerian footballers ask quietly, even when they do not say it out loudly:
“Is talent really enough?”
A boy can dribble better than his classmates, score goals every weekend and attract the attention of coaches and local scouts
. He can be faster, stronger and more skillful than the players around him. Yet, as he gets closer to serious football, another belief can begin to grow inside him:
Something else is needed.
For some, that “something else” is prayer.
For others, it may be a pastor, imam, spiritual adviser, chaplain or traditional spiritual practice. The language may differ, but the underlying belief can be similar: football is too unpredictable to be left entirely to talent and hard work.
And it is not difficult to understand why.
Football can humble the talented. A striker can miss an open goal. A goalkeeper can concede from a seemingly harmless shot. A highly rated youngster can suffer an injury just when his career appears ready to take off. A player can train every day and still spend weeks on the bench.
Sport is full of things an athlete cannot completely control.
That uncertainty can make spirituality attractive.
Research in sport psychology has found that religious and spiritual practices can help athletes cope with stress, uncertainty and anxiety, while also contributing to well-being and team cohesion. Importantly, however, that does not mean science has established that prayer directly produces victories. More recent research has described the relationship between spirituality and sport as complex, with evidence for a direct cause-and-effect relationship remaining inconclusive.
Perhaps the distinction is easier to understand through a footballer.
Super Eagles defender Calvin Bassey has spoken publicly about his matchday routine. He described praying after waking up, praying again before the match, receiving prayers from his mother and pastor, and then preparing himself to “lock in.”
That phrase should interest football people.
Lock in.
He does not describe prayer as replacing football preparation. Rather, it forms part of his preparation.
That may be one of the healthiest roles spirituality can play in sport.
A young footballer can pray because prayer gives him peace before a difficult match. He can believe in God while studying his opponent. He can attend religious gatherings while working on his weaker foot. He can seek spiritual encouragement after an injury while following the rehabilitation programme prescribed by qualified medical professionals.
In other words, spirituality can speak to the person, while training develops the player.
The danger begins when the two are confused.
When a teenager starts believing that his footballing future depends more on spiritual intervention than on what he does every day on the training ground, the balance has already begun to shift.
The talented player who does not train will eventually meet a disciplined player who does.
The gifted midfielder who refuses tactical instruction will eventually meet an equally talented midfielder who listens to his coach.
And the promising striker who believes prayer alone guarantees goals may eventually discover one of football’s hardest truths:
Hope can carry you to the pitch, but it cannot play the match for you.
Perhaps that is why the conversation about sports and spirituality matters so much.
The question is not whether a young footballer should believe.
The deeper question is whether his belief will strengthen his work or replace it.
That distinction could determine whether spirituality becomes a source of balance—or a dangerous shortcut.
To Be Continued.
