Statement on Black Lives Matter

Gabriel Ajala, Passion for Sport trustee:

As an avid listener to the Planet Sport Football Africa programme, I was attracted to Passion For Sport because of its unique content and what it represents, namely, using sport to spread the gospel and covering sport from a perspective that is often neglected in the global sports market.

We are in a time right now with Covid-19 where almost half a million lives have been lost globally, and where humanity has had to pull together in such unprecedented times.

Some may have thought things couldn't get any worse, but then we witnessed the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the third incident of racial violence in the space of a few weeks.

Enough is enough. A period of education, listening and understanding is needed to get to the root of the greatest pandemic that has occurred in humanity: racism.

Although in Passion For Sport our audience, support and reach is global, we still feel the pain that is happening to the black community worldwide. Now more than ever, the core of what we do has to guide us as we set out to be an example to the world and be led by Jesus Christ as we play our part in educating and telling stories of truth and hope, both in Christ and the power of sport.

In the past, the Church used the Bible to justify and encourage the enslavement of people. But now it is paramount for the body of Christ to come together, unite in tackling racism and not allow the vehicle in which God moves to be divided.

Gabriel Ajala is a member of Hillsong Church, Croydon and a former England U15 & U16 footballer