SAFC chaplain Father Marc Lyden-Smith explores faith and football in new book | OneFootball

Father Marc Lyden-Smith, Sunderland AFC’s club chaplain, has released Faith and Football, a reflection on how sport and religion intertwine, with the Stadium of Light evoked as a cathedral of sport.

According to Sunderland Echo, the Hebburn-born priest has supported the Black Cats since childhood and has served as club chaplain for 14 years.

He came to wider attention in Netflix’s Sunderland Til’ I Die, which charted back-to-back relegations to League One. The book mirrors the supporters’ Keep the Faith mantra and offers insight into his twin roles as chaplain and parish priest.

Initially commissioned by publisher McCrimmon to write about saints, he shifted to a literary study of how football and faith overlap, from community and shared hope to songs and chants akin to hymns.

Chapters explore the tests of faith faced by players and coaches and take an in-depth look at the passion of the Sunderland and Newcastle United rivalry.

He also profiles saints linked to sport, including Saint Sebastian and Saint Luigi Scrosoppi, and reflects on a football-loving former pope who played in goal, alongside Saint Rita’s example of perseverance.

After four years in the third tier during the last 10, he says the period tested supporters, and feels recent success shows how belief can be rewarded. The book carries a foreword by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, a Liverpool fan.

Released this week, the £7.95 title is available via Amazon and bookshops. On Monday 7 September he discussed it with the Sunderland AFC Senior Supporters Association at a Stadium of Light signing, and more than 2,000 copies have already sold, with strong interest in Glasgow.

Source: Sunderland Echo

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