During the St Mary’s Evening on 12th February, we heard from our mission partner, Angy King. Angy spoke to us through video on a very cold February evening from the 3G pitch at the SCL Stadium in Reading where she serves as chaplain to Reading FC women’s teams. She is one of three chaplains at Reading FC.
Angy explained that she is at the pitch on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights bringing Christ’s love and compassion to players on the football field. On Mondays the U10s and U12s train, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays the U14s and U16s train. The first women’s team are also training on Tuesdays and Thursdays 7.30 – 9.30pm. Angy’s role as a chaplain is to listen to players, build relationships with them and show God’s love and compassion.
When the younger players train, Angy spends a lot of time with their parents, getting to know them and their families, and building relationships of trust. Angy sees about 130 players a week, 15 staff and on match days she sees the fans and families who come to watch as well. New players and staff joined this year and Angy is spending time getting to know them.
There are three Christians in the first team and on match days Angy prays with them before the game. Angy prays for anything that is on the players’ hearts and for them to show Christ in the way they play.
Angy feels she has good relationships with the players, and they feel they can come and chat to her about lots of things including injuries that can be hard to manage, or problems at work, as they are not professional football players and have ‘day jobs’ as well.
Angy is looking for help at Reading Football Club to support players when she is not there and for more chaplains in other areas of the country. She said that it would be great to provide more chaplains for clubs who request them. It would be wonderful to have more people who love Jesus and sport to become a chaplain and represent Christ in a sporting environment. To get started as a chaplain, there are a few training sessions to be done on Zoom and there is a lot of support available for new chaplains.
There are over 900 people working as chaplains in all different sports in the UK, 14 working in women’s football in England, and Angy is hoping to get some more!
Angy thanked everyone for their support and is hoping to see us at the St Mary’s Mission BBQ in June.
Please see Angy’s prayer points:
- Give thanks for the good relationships Angy has with staff and players, especially with Emma (director of football) and Ed (first team manager). Pray those relationships of trust may enable them to ask the deeper questions about life. Give thanks for the three Christian players in the team and the manager’s willingness to allow us time for prayer before matches. Pray especially for Lucy who lost her grandfather and uncle in December and now her father is seriously ill in hospital. She is 23 and has no contact with her mother.
- Give thanks that the club want to restart programme notes for home games and that they have asked Angy to write for that again. Pray for wisdom as she decides on the content as it is an opportunity to be fairly evangelistic.
- Pray for the five youth teams and their families who Angy spends time with three evenings a week. Pray she may be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit as she decides who to chat to each week. Pray for more people who are interested in showing God’s love and compassion to those in sport to come forward to help Angy with this ministry.
- Give thanks that members of the Maidenhead branch of the Salvation Army were so willing to play carols at the stadium before the last men’s team home game before Christmas at Reading football club. Pray that all who heard them would be encouraged to consider Jesus in 2026.
- Give thanks too for the Football Association Faith and Football event in December. Pray that all who came realise that God wants to be in all aspects of our lives not just with us in church on a Sunday.
If you would like to contact Angy, her email address is as follows: angy.king@sportschaplaincy.org.uk