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Article
Community
Culture
Maradona runs in celebration, holding a hand aloft as an England player sits dejected on the ground.

The decade that defined sport 

Simon Burton-Jones
What the sports stars of today owe to the eighties.
5 min read
Authored on
2024-06-19
Article
Comment
Sport
A tennis player stands ready to return a shot, while a phalanx of photographers crowd round a court-side opening to take a picture of him.

Winning the emotional whole in elite sport

Jonny Reid and Graham Daniels
As the pressure builds at Wimbledon, Jonny Reid and Graham Daniels reflect on the psychology vulnerabilities sports stars face.
3 min read
Authored on
2023-07-12
Review
Art
Culture
An impressionist painting of runners bunched together on the bend of a track.

The collective effervescence of sport’s congregation

Jonathan Evens
Art captures how sport and religion are entwined throughout history.
5 min read
Authored on
2024-07-23
Article
Creed
Idolatry
A professional footballer wearign a red top stands proudly beneath a white and black banner.

Idols or idiots? Why sporting stars cannot bear the weight we place on them

Graham Tomlin
Why it’s wise to know their place, and ours, in the universe.
5 min read
Authored on
2024-03-02
Column
Culture
Football
A striker is about kick a football towards a goal, a red beach ball sits between him and the goalkeeper.

Referees and stupidity

Jonathan Rowlands
What one referee’s foul-mouthed rant tells us about the nature of sport, and authority.
7 min read
Authored on
2024-11-13
Article
Character
Creed
A swimmer at the end of a race, looks to the result screen.

Letter to the Olympians

Ashley Null
A veteran sports chaplain writes a letter to Christian Olympians, on how they can find joy amid the 'funerals and weddings' of the games.
6 min read
Authored on
2024-08-06
Review
Culture
Football
A footballer takes a penalty kick.

Shootout: what penalties say about life

Simon Burton-Jones
Football is a global language and the shootout is the end to Shakespearian tragedy.
5 min read
Authored on
2024-07-06
Editor's pick
Creed
Freedom
A gaggle of cricket players, dressed in whites, stand on the field. One raises there arm

Can Bazball teach us something about freedom?

Cameron Wiltshire-Plant
In the wake of England's remarkable victory over India in Hyderabad, Cameron Wiltshire-Plant explores the unlikely links between Bazball and the spiritual life.
7 min read
Authored on
2024-01-28
Article
Comment
Sport
A rugby ball sails towards a player in a striped jersey from the foot of a kicker who has a leg and an arm extended out.

Why are sportspeople so superstitious?

Jonny Reid
Routine and rhythm help performance, but sporting superstition begs a question, writes Jonny Reid. Who do we really think is in control?
4 min read
Authored on
2023-09-16
Article
Character
Creed
A golfer cups his face as he realises he has won.

Scheffler’s secure identity

Jonny Reid
At the top of the game, win at all costs doesn't cut it.
4 min read
Authored on
2024-04-17
Article
Addiction
Comment
The edge of a football pitch showing an advertising hoarding with a betting brand name on it.

An irresponsible gamble

Sam Tomlin
Out-of-date law and human nature mean sports betting is more than harmless fun – it ruins lives, argues Sam Tomlin.
6 min read
Authored on
2023-03-30
Article
Culture
Easter
A golf clutches his face after winning a competition

Rory McIlroy’s pilgrim’s progress

Graham Tomlin
The golfer’s relief at finally laying his burden down.
4 min read
Authored on
2025-04-16
Explainer
Creed
Football
Two footballers run in step as one tries to tackle the other

Thrill and trust in an unpredictable world

Graham Tomlin
When Saturday comes, Graham Tomlin is enthralled by sport's unpredictability. Yet in an uncontrollable world, he finds a need for trust.
7 min read
Authored on
2023-08-19
Review
Culture
A painting of the Last supper showing Christ and the disciples at a table.

Most popular 2024: the contributors

Nick Jones
From politics and media, to sporting controversy, our top writers’ takes on the year.
3 min read
Authored on
2024-12-31
Article
Creed
Football
A football manager stands on the touchline and stares hard, dressed in a black coat and hat.

Even the best have their limits: Jürgen Klopp’s lessons for life

Jonathan Rowlands
A famed football manager’s resignation tells us a lot about human nature.
6 min read
Authored on
2024-01-31
Column
Comment
Football
Four footballers stand arms crossed looking expectant and confident.

Is the Premier League too much of a good thing?

Jonathan Rowlands
A weary look ahead to the new season.
6 min read
Authored on
2024-08-16
Explainer
Culture
Film & TV
A view across a talk show TV set showing a security guard standing between two guest while the host talks to them. An audience looks on.

The fortunate death of tabloid talk shows

Lauren Windle
TV tabloid talk shows made a spectator sport out of domestic conflict. Lauren Windle dissects the grim format’s demise and draws lessons for today’s media users.
9 min read
Authored on
2023-06-13
Column
Culture
Football
in a dressing room, celebrating footballer crowd together for a photograph.

FA Cup magic: the cliches that belie football’s real focus

Jonathan Rowlands
Selfish interests are a symptom of a wider social tendency.
4 min read
Authored on
2025-02-17
Review
Culture
Film & TV
A woman stands in a kitchen diner hold a phone with a cord.

Don't stop believin'

Yaroslav Walker
Air is a biopic you can believe in, says Yaroslav Walker, thanks to an awesome soundtrack and the hint of deeper themes.
3 min read
Authored on
2023-04-25
Column
Culture
Football
TV presenters stand eith side of a large screen showing football team badges.

Football transfers are just cheat codes to success

Jonathan Rowlands
Not every problem in the game, or life, can be fixed overnight.
4 min read
Authored on
2025-01-15
Article
Character
Comment
A defeat fencer, withour a mask, turns angrily and roars.

When medal mania strikes

Paul Valler
What turns a healthy motivation to excel into a toxic desperation to achieve?
4 min read
Authored on
2024-08-07
Article
Creed
Football
A TV screen shows a football match with a superimposed diagonal line dividing the pitch.

Killing Joy: VAR's search for objectivity is flawed

Graham Tomlin
Why this Man United fan wishes his team had lost.
5 min read
Authored on
2024-04-22
Essay
Belief
Creed
A child on the shoulders of a parent wears a light blue and white stripped football top, waves the Argentinian flag

Argentina’s adoration of Lionel Messi

Matthias Grebe
The icon of the beautiful game holds a nation's gaze, giving insights into redemption.
6 min read
Authored on
2025-02-11
Column
Culture
Football
A dejected looking football manager ponders his feet while standing beside a pitch.

We're pretty useless really

George Pitcher
We all fail. Not just Southgate, Biden and Sunak.
4 min read
Authored on
2024-07-25
Review
Books
Culture
Scottish football fans wearing kilts march down a street singing and waving their arms alogt.

What makes fans tick?

Simon Burton-Jones
Fandom’s remarkable fusing.
4 min read
Authored on
2024-06-11
Podcast
Music
Podcasts
A gold medallist bites her medal.

Seen & Unseen Aloud: making meaning out of life

Natalie Garrett
Winning, losing, the life in between, and the music that accompanies.
1 min read
Authored on
2024-09-02
Article
Character
Comment
Gareth Southgate congratulating the team

Why England lost the Final

Emerson Csorba
Emerson Csorba explores why love is a game-changer when it comes to winning.
6 min read
Authored on
2024-07-16
Column
Comment
Ethics
A footballer holds up the European cup, behind him fans are jubillant.

PSG’s win signals politics over purpose – other institutions take note

Jonathan Rowlands
When church and football feign neutrality, politics can ride roughshod
5 min read
Authored on
2025-06-09
Column
Community
Culture
A CGI image of a son and dad holding hands on the concourse of a modern stadium.

I’ll miss football’s disappearing cathedrals

Jonathan Rowlands
Sharing the same physical space as those that go before is a spiritual act.
4 min read
Authored on
2025-03-26
Article
Comment
Sport
A gold medallist bites her medal.

What’s Simone Biles doing today?

Julia Kendal
How to live with winning and losing.
5 min read
Authored on
2024-08-20
Article
Comment
Morality
Cricket Ball on Fire Illustration

The day the Ashes caught fire

Graham Tomlin
After the upset following Alex Carey’s controversial stumping of Jonny Bairstow at Lord's, Graham Tomlin reflects on the so-called 'Spirit of Cricket' and what it tells us about our innate sense of justice and morality.
6 min read
Authored on
2023-07-03
Article
Comment
Identity
Two England fans stand in stadium seeting holding up their flag.

The Euros and the problem of nationality

Sam Tomlin
In a world of populist nationalism, should you support your national team?
6 min read
Authored on
2024-06-21
Article
Change
Character
A muddy rugby player carries equipment off a pitch.

Rugby teaches how to live for others

Cameron Wiltshire-Plant
The unseen players, doing unseen work, witness a truth of a content life.
5 min read
Authored on
2025-01-30
Article
Character
Culture
A dejected football coach squats by the byline.

What happens if your club doesn’t win?

Henry Corbett
In football leagues and life not all of us can be winners.
3 min read
Authored on
2025-05-02
Review
Books
Culture
A fan holds an upside down football scrarf that reads 'Juergen is a red'.

The book to help you fall back in love with football

Jonathan Rowlands
Neil Atkinson’s Transformer isn’t the straightforward biography of Jurgen Klopp.
5 min read
Authored on
2024-09-25
Article
Change
Community
Runners jog along a path into the sunset.

The power of running together

Jessica Norman
Park Run and the participation principle.
3 min read
Authored on
2024-05-31
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Creed
Graham Tomlin's Summer Reading List
Graham Tomlin's Summer Reading List
Nick Jones
Belief
Books
Creed
Faith
2 min read
Aerial view of a yellow-jacketed police forming a cordon within a crowd.
The short road from normality to evil
Jonathan Rowlands
Creed
Monsters
5 min read
Culture
An animated man runs through a jungle.
What my film about the prodigal son really means
Emily Downe
Culture
Digital
Film & TV
Work
7 min read
An actor reads a speech at a commemoration
Forgotten soldiers and new narratives are shaping how we mark our wars
Susan Gray
Art
Culture
Trauma
War & peace
5 min read
Comment
An animated man runs through a jungle.
What my film about the prodigal son really means
Emily Downe
Culture
Digital
Film & TV
Work
7 min read
Amid a bombed alley, a victim is helped to walk by a rescue worker
We must invest in defence, fast - it’s the only moral thing to do
Emerson Csorba
Comment
Ethics
Politics
War & peace
5 min read
Change
Female prisoners hug their children who have climbed across a table to them.
Four things I’ve learnt from working with prisoners
Daniel Bey
Care
Change
Justice
4 min read
A teenager slumped against a sofa plays a video game
There’s a simple solution to society’s lost boys
Belle Tindall
Care
Change
Community
Masculinity
5 min read

Christian perspectives on just about everything.

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