Four ways to help your kid see what God’s got to do with the World Cup

5 June 2026

It's World Cup time! If our kids or teenagers love football - or just join in when it's World Cup season - how can we surf that wave and help them discover what God's got to do with it all?

Many of us will be caught up in the excitement – whether as a passionate supporter, interested bystander or wannabee champion. So as you join in with the ups and downs this summer, here are four ways to help your kids see what God’s got to do with the World Cup – and scroll down for a free download to start some interesting conversations in your family this summer. 

1. God loves football 

He loves football – and every other way he’s created us to be amazing and creative and express ourselves. God created human beings with bodies, energy, creativity, and a desire to move, compete, and work together. For many people, that will be expressed by playing football. 

Sometimes a passion for football (or any other sport) can seem to sit uneasily with faith, particularly when it can take time from Sundays or its importance grows. But there are Christians in sport, even at the elite level, who see football as a way of bringing glory to God and worshipping him. Here are some stories from elite athletes about how faith and sport work together for them, bringing glory to God: 

If you are a passionate sportsperson or spectator this is part of whom God has created you to be.  

Ways to explore this with your family:

Key tool – Surfing the Waves 

As our kids grow and change, one of our jobs as parents and carers is to journey alongside them and help them spot God in it all. Here are some ideas for surfing the waves of their footballing passion.

Ideas to explore this further 

  • Encourage your kid to find out more about some Christian sports people.  What difference does their faith make to their sport and their lives? 
  • Encourage your child or teen to chat and catch with God about their sport – sharing with him their passion, what they enjoy and the tougher stuff too. 

Try one of these conversation starters:  

  • Do you think Jesus played any sports? 
  • Do you think there’ll be football in heaven? 
  • What difference could faith make when you are doing sport? 
  • Can the way people play sport bring honour to God? Have you seen that? 

2. God gets the highs and lows 

Football – whether as a player or spectator – can often be a rollercoaster of emotions. An amazing goal … an angry tackle … a missed offside – you’ll see it all in 90 minutes. It’s hard not to feel all those emotions when you play sport yourself, and they can feel very very big.  

But it’s those very emotions that make sport so engaging and draw us back time and time again. Sometimes we see sport in very black and white terms: winning is good, losing is bad. Or our team is the best and the other are the enemy.  

The World Cup gives us fantastic opportunities to explore those emotions and discover the difference God can make – whether we win or lose. 

Ways to explore this with your family:

Key tools – Creating Windows and Framing

As you watch matches or notice the emotions the players are showing, you can create windows into your own experiences to help your child or teen think about how God is part of our emotional lives too. There are ideas for how to do that in this post.  

You can also use the frame, or explain, to explore with your child or teen what might be going on through conversation and questions. 

Ideas to explore this further: 

  • Share a story about a time when you lost a big game, reacted badly or felt cheated – how you felt, what you did, what God did – or what you would have liked him to do. 
  • When a player makes a mistake pause the game and wonder – what is he feeling right now? What will help him? 

Try one of these conversation starters: 

  • Do you think God feels any big emotions?  
  • What does God do when he sees something unfair happening? 
  • What helps you when you lose? 
  • Are you special if you win, or are you just using the gifts God gave you? 
  • How can we ‘love the other team as ourselves’?

3. God has big plans for the world

And they look a tiny bit like the World Cup! 

The descriptions of heaven in the bible talk about people from ‘every nation, tribe and language’ worshipping God together (Revelation 7:9) in a place where there’s no sadness, crying or pain (Revelation 21:4).  

One of the reasons we love the World Cup is because so many different nations are there, yet everyone is playing the same game. Heaven will be like that, every nation, tribe and language, yet all worshipping one God. And although we’re not in heaven yet, we can see that in our churches – all sorts of people with different backgrounds, abilities, passions and experiences worshipping one God, together.  

We live in an in-between time, waiting for the time when this world ends and God brings heaven to earth. But we don’t just get to wait. God asks us to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth by the way we live and the decisions we make – and that includes in sport. And he doesn’t just ask us to get on with it – the bible tells us God gives us each gifts to use to make this world more like God designed it to be. It’s a bit like a football team – not everyone is a goalkeeper; some love defending, and some have the gift of speed that means they can outrun their opponent and strike that ball into the net! 

As we watch the World Cup, we can explore these ideas and think about our roles in God’s plans. 

Ways to explore this further

Key Tool – Framing

As you enjoy the World Cup, seeing different nations, you can use the Key Tool of Framing help your kids understand more about God’s plan for the world and their part in it. 

Ideas to explore this further: 

  • Chat about your church – how many different countries do people come from? How is church a little bit like heaven?  
  • When you’re watching the opening or closing of the World Cup, wonder together how this is like heaven. 

Try one of these conversation starters: 

  • Who is God supporting at the World Cup? 
  • What’s God’s favourite moment at the World Cup? 
  • If Jesus were on a football team, what position would he be? 
  • What skills do you see in your family that you could use to make the world more like God designed it to be? 

4. He’s greater than even the World Cup

When we watch the World Cup, we see some of the very best football in the world – moves that make us gasp at the brilliance and incredible skill and giving us moments we will celebrate and remember for a lifetime.  So as we support our teams we can celebrate seeing God’s handiwork at its footballing best, and for a brief few weeks, we can feel like we are in footballing heaven. But sport – however good we are at it, and however big a part of our life it plays – is not the wholeness of who we are, nor is it meant to be. This is what Paul says to Timothy: 

As the saying goes, “Exercise is good for your body, but religion helps you in every way. It promises life now and forever.”  (I Timothy 4:8, CEV) 

However much we love our sport, there is One who is greater, more exciting and far more enduring than a World Cup win! Sport is a part of our lives but shouldn’t be the most important part. Following God promises us so much more, not just in the future but here on earth, in the ordinary everyday. Not just guidance and help, but a one-to-one relationship where we draw close to God and him to us.  

When we help our children and teens understand how God impacts every part of our lives, we can help them see why they might want to follow him too.  

Ways to explore this further

Key Tool – Framing

As you enjoy the World Cup, seeing different nations, you can use the Key Tool of Framing help your kids understand more about God’s plan for the world and their part in it. 

Ideas to explore this further: 

  • Share a story about a time God showed up for you – when he turned things around, or surprised you, or helped you get through something.  
  • Encourage them to chat and catch with God – if this is new to you, why not have a go together? (see here to explore our posts about prayer)
  • Explain why you chose to become a Christian (and the difference it has made since then) 

Try one of these conversation starters: 

  • What would you say to someone who asked you ‘Why is God worth following?’ 
  • What ‘exercise’ can we do to help us get better at following God? 
  • Is God as exciting as the World Cup? Why or why not? 

 

Download a free set of conversation starters to use in your family and church:

World Cup conversation starters

You might also find the following helpful: 

For conversations and ideas about Sunday sport: 

Get football-themed devotionals for various ages, from The Hope-Filled Family.

 Learn more about the Five Key Tools.

 

Explore related content

Acknowledgements

Photo by Getty Images Pro via Canva Pro