Luc Noubissi, a member of the United Church’s General Council Executive, is the force behind a faith and football (soccer) ministery that has around 200 active members and 10 teams of primarily African francophone young men at congregations across the country.
This is not Noubissi’s first time bringing together sport, community and spirituality. Originally from Cameroon, he founded a Christian football academy as part of his ministry in Gabon, before immigrating to Canada. In organizing last December’s National Francophone Youth Gathering at Five Oaks Centre in Paris, Ont., Noubissi made faith and sport the focus. Now he’s planning a special tournament to coincide with FIFA’s World Cup soccer events this summer. He spoke to Emma Prestwich.
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On soccer’s appeal: Football is one of the most popular activities in Africa and in the world now, and the idea was to use this activity as a bridge to connect youth with the faith.
As a leader of these young people, I tell them we have to start our training and our games by praying, and we end by praying. And at the end of the day, you realize that you have built a community of people sharing some values that football shares — like fair play, solidarity, discipline, training. All those values are Christian values.
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On theological parallels: Jesus would speak to the crowd and use images, parables, that everyone could understand. The stadiums now are like real temples with millions of people watching through their TVs. Recently, in a European stadium, we saw a player, VinÃcius Júnior, who was a victim of an opponent’s racist slurs, and that was displayed worldwide. The way people reacted to what they witnessed also informs how the church and society in general deal with racism.
On how the first team began: We started something in 2022 with the French ministry in Toronto, then got the support of the United Church. We have started the same kind of teams in Sherbrooke and in Longueuil, Que. I’m also starting something currently in Cambridge, Ont.
On why soccer resonates with African youth specifically: We live in a society where we still have a lot of exclusion, and for African descendants, the soccer field appears to be one of the solutions to their inclusion. I believe soccer is one of the sports that is really for poor or low-income people. Unlike golf, you don’t need very expensive equipment to practise.
On the FIFA World Cup: Because we have the World Cup in Toronto and Vancouver this year, we are planning a big tournament and inviting teams to play, both church-based and not.
We think there is a great opportunity there to share the faith, the good news, in a different way through competition, by just letting people enjoy themselves while sharing the values of solidarity, brotherhood and peace. It could be a great message to the world that church is not only in the buildings; church is beyond the walls, and we are there on the field to share the message of love.
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Emma Prestwich is the digital editor at Broadview.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity and length.
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