The Austrian Football Association's Stickler (left) und Lutheran Bishop Sturm. Photo: Evangelischer Presseverband Oesterreich/M. Uschmann

Austrian churches team up for soccer championship

Churches in Austria have launched an evangelisation programme for the Euro 2008 football championships, which the country is hosting jointly with neighbouring Switzerland in June, reports ENI Daily News Service.

"These soccer events will offer young people from various countries a chance to meet," said Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Austria. "Christians intend to enjoy them as much as other sports fans. By getting involved in Euro 2008, the churches will seek to reveal Christ to people."

The cardinal made the remarks in a pastoral letter to local Catholics as preparations continued for the tournament being organized by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), which is to be shared by the two Alpine countries in eight cities, to decide the top soccer team in Europe.

Schönborn said football, like the Christian faith, requires "team work where each participant trains for a common aim," and in which "a sense of clean struggle reigns".

At the same time, the chairperson of Austria's Ecumenical Council of Churches, Lutheran Bishop Herwig Sturm, said Christian leaders hope to be close to competitors and fans throughout the competition.

"This will be the first time Christian churches have co-operated on such a wide scale," Sturm told journalists in Vienna on 27 November along with the head of Austria's Football Association, Friedrich Stickler. "Through our initiatives, we want to help create a joyful and peaceful climate for each match, and to highlight the teamwork spirit which will be so much needed by Euro 2008 footballers."

A total of 16 national sides are competing in the UEFA championship, whose final draw took place on 2 December in Lucerne's Culture and Convention Centre. At least 50 000 fans from European countries are expected in Vienna's Ernst-Happel Stadium on 29 June for the final match.

Greece won the 2004 competition in a showdown with Portugal at Lisbon.

Launching the joint church project, "On the Ball for 2008 years," Bishop Sturm said Christians planned to screen messages in lights above stadiums in Vienna, Salzburg, Klagenfurt and Innsbruck, as well as laying on a musical extravaganza before the kick-off in Basel, Switzerland.

A special red-and-white scarf in Austrian and Swiss colours, with the logo "Churches 08," is being prepared for the competition. The churches input will include separate inter-schools and anti-racism programmes.

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[01/03/2008]

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