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Passion for Sport exists to introduce sports fans to Jesus through media and in 2017 we’re looking forward to bringing sports fans the news, stories and experiences from many of the top sporting events. With many fans looking for different angles on the events our unique Christian perspective enables us to reach fans who may have little or no understanding of the good news of the Gospel and the peace, joy and fulfilment that following Jesus brings.
In January football fans across Africa will be eagerly following the Africa Cup of Nations which takes place from 14 January to the 5th of February. In England Premier League teams will be losing African players to AFCON for up to six weeks for training, warm-up matches and the competition itself. Sixteen teams are taking part including the hosts Gabon and the 2015 defending champions, Ivory Coast. Planet Sport Football Africa producer, Steve Vickers, will be commentating on matches for the host broadcaster and in between recording interviews and producing our weekly programme. This is a great opportunity for us to produce the programme from the heart of the AFCON tournament and engage with fans across the continent who are following the competition.
February sees us at the Indoor Athletics Grand Prix in Birmingham. Reporter Norman Brierley will be interviewing athletes for our other weekly programme, Planet Sport. As in past years we will be hoping to speak to athletes who are committed followers of Jesus, to share their stories with Planet Sport listeners.
In May the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series comes to Europe. Following the successful introduction of Rugby Sevens to the Olympic Games in Rio worldwide interest in the sport is at an all-time high. The Series takes in ten cities including Cape Town, Wellington and Hong Kong before finishing in Paris and London. We are planning to attend at least one of the two European events to report on the action and interview some of the players on the circuit who are committed followers of Jesus.
Next we’ll be at two major athletics events in London, the IPC Athletics World Championships for para-athletes (14-23 July) and the IAAF World Championships (4-13 August). These are the biggest events on the athletics calendar outside the Olympics and Paralympics and we’re looking forward to bringing Planet Sport listeners the stories and interviews from the iconic Olympic Stadium where fans and athletes alike will recall the electric atmosphere from the amazing Olympics in 2012.
You can be part of our mission to introduce sports fans to Jesus through media in 2017. Pray for increasing opportunities to share the good news of Jesus through media and will you also consider making a gift and becoming one of our vital financial partners?
By Adrian Barnard, CEO