The End of an Olympic Dream: Sanya Richards-Ross bows out

Sanya Richards-Ross at London 2012 (third from left).

Last weekend the reigning Olympic women’s 400 metres champion, Sanya Richards-Ross from the USA pulled up in her heat at the United States trials in Eugene, Oregon. Less than three weeks earlier she’d suffered a bad hamstring injury and this now means she will miss the Olympic Games in Rio next month and the chance to defend her title.

Sanya was clearly moved as the crowd of over 20,000 gave her a standing ovation, realizing they were witnessing the end of a wonderful career.

Afterwards she told the waiting media: “I’ve been so blessed, I Can’t cry, can’t complain. I’ll keep my head up.”

London 2012 was the pinnacle whens he finally won the Olympic title her career deserved. She won her first major title at the World Championships in Paris back in 2003 as part of the United States 4x400 metres relay team. Since then she’s own individual titles at the World Championship and World Indoor Champions and three successive Olympic relay titles.

In a previous interview, Passion for Sport reporter Norman Brierley asked her about her faith.

“My faith means everything to me. I think it is the one thing that keeps me going because I do believe in God and I believe everything happens for a reason. I think even the tough moments are all going to work together for my good.”

For more about Sanya Richards-Ross, listen to this week’s edition of Planet Sport.

Faith and Rio – interviews from the Diamond League Athletics

Passion for Sport reporter Norman Brierley was at the Diamond League Athletics in Birmingham last month. If you missed his thoughts on the event, you can catch up here.

Whilst there he spoke with the USA 800 metres runner, Chanelle Price, and asked how her training is going.

“Right now we’re just working on that strong finish. Everyone can get to the six but now we’ll decrease our load and put in some speed work these next 3-4 weeks and work on that strong finish.”

“The sport is a lot of sacrifices. You don’t get to live the average life. Everything we do – what we eat, what we drink, when we go to bed, what we do during the day. There’s always something we can be doing to get better. You get tired sometimes but what keeps me motivated is knowing that God requires that I give my all.”

At the time Norman spoke with Chanelle she had her eyes on Rio but sadly she has failed to make the cut after the US Trials last weekend.

Sunette Viljoen competes in javelin for the RSA and has won medals at almost every major championship. She’s a four time African Champion, she’s won gold in the Afro-Asian Championships and Commonwealth Games. And she’s twice won bronze at the World Championships – most recently last year in Beijing. But there’s one major event where success has so far eluded her – the Olympic Games.

“I look forward to Rio very much. I know what I can do. I have a lot of training that can be done. I just need to find that one solid throw I’m looking for - I know I have in me. Come Rio, I’ll be ready, I know I will be.”

Speaking about her faith, she said:

“You have to have an anchor. I don’t know how you can’t have an anchor – to pray for calmness and to pray for focus and to pray for strength on such big events. And you have to trust the Lord and you have to praise him whether it goes good or bad.”

The Gathering 2016

“Mud, mud, glorious mud, nothing quite like it for cooling the blood.” So went the lyrics of The Hippopotamus Song made popular by the British duo Flanders and Swann back in the 1960s.

At The Gathering 2016 we had plenty of mud, mud, glorious mud. Organised by Christian Vision for Men, The Gathering was staged “in a field near Swindon” on the same weekend as Glastonbury, where, incidentally it’s always muddy too. Any self-respecting hippopotamus would have felt quite at home.

Despite the mud (did I mention it was muddy?) over 2000 men came from all around the country to hear inspiring speakers and challenging Christian teaching. There were football tournaments, classic car displays along with bar skittles, archery and chess, for those who preferred less active competition.

Passion for Sport went along to chat to delegates about the work we do to introduce sports fans to Jesus through media. Appropriately enough, our stand was in the Mess Tent….

There was plenty of interest in our National Ten Pin Bowling Competition in October, designed to provide a great social event for men’s groups and raise money to help Passion for Sport introduce sports fans to Jesus through media. Find out how your group can be involved here.

One of the people who visited our stand was Arthur White. Arthur is a former World Champion powerlifter who once had everything until cocaine, steroids and an affair wrecked his life leaving him with nothing. Then he met the living Lord Jesus and his life completely turned around. Today he has a passion to tell others about God’s mercy and love. We recorded his amazing story to share with listeners to our Planet Sport programme.

God is still in the business of changing lives. That’s why we’re so passionate about introducing sports fans to Jesus. You can help us today by making a gift here and by praying that the sports fans we meet through media will become committed followers of Jesus and in time tell others about the love and mercy of God themselves.

Football Uniting Friends

Many things unite people. Family, faith and football are just three.

Our genes unite us to our biological families and while for many that’s a happy experience for others it’s quite the opposite.

A shared faith can unite people from different cultures, background and experiences. The Christian church is often called a family with members looking out for one another and supporting each other.

Football unites people too. Sadly that can mean uniting a minority of fans who are bent on violence, as we have seen recently in France during Euro 2016, but far more often football unites people for good. Back in May Manchester United fan, Moses Kamara travelled 7000 kilometres from Sierra Leone to watch his beloved team play their final Premier League game of the season against Bournemouth. But when he arrived the match was called off following a security scare at Old Trafford. Moses cried but his tears soon turned to tears of joy as friends from the Manchester United Supporters Trust came to the rescue. They not only helped Moses get a ticket for the rearranged match, they also got him a ticket for the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace and rearranged his flight home. Ian Sterling, Vice-chairman of MUST said: “When we heard the game was abandoned we had to tell Moses and the poor lad was distraught. That was his dream. But we’re trying to do the right thing for a friend.” United by name, united by nature.

Our weekly radio programme Planet Sport Football Africa unites fans of African football around the world. Most of our listeners live in Africa but we’ve heard from fans in Korea, Italy and the United States. The show is heard on 40 stations in 14 countries, online and via our phone app. This week alone we have had over 100 responses through Whats App and social media from fans in Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Namibia, Malawi, The Gambia, Scotland and Libya.

Our listeners are united by a love of football. The Passion for Sport team is united by both a passion for sport and a passion for Jesus. Our aim is to introduce sports fans to Jesus and Planet Sport Football Africa provides us with a great opportunity.

You can show your support for Planet Sport Football Africa by praying that God will use the programme to build his Kingdom and by making a gift here.

By Adrian Barnard

New Podcast for Football Fans

Chat, banter, ribbing and good humour – all this and more can be heard in a new podcast for football fans launched Monday 13th June.

Up In The Gantry, a joint monthly production of Passion for Sport and Cross the Line, takes three current footballing issues, kicks them in the air and gets a team of passionate fans to bounce the ideas around.

The team includes Adrian Barnard from Passion for Sport and Crystal Palace fan, and Ollie Baines from Cross the Line who supports Norwich City.

This first edition features the joys and pains of supporting teams battling for promotion to the Premier League, José Mourinho’s appointment as Manchester United Manager and England’s quest for Euro 2016 success.

There are many podcasts for football fans in the UK but what makes Up In The Gantry different is that every participant shares not only a passion for football but also a passion for Jesus.

Have a listen and let us know what you think.

Diamond League Athletics, Birmingham

The IAAF Diamond League meeting in Birmingham is a prestigious occasion in the athletics calendar taking place every year in June.  The event is the sixth leg of the IAAF Diamond League, the global series comprising of the world's 14 best athletics meetings.

Athletes compete to win points in their event which accumulate over the year.  The Diamond Race champions then receive their trophies after the series finals in Zurich and Brussels.

The meeting in Birmingham did not disappoint! Eight stadium records and six world leading times this year were recorded.  There was even a new British Record as the crowd’s favourite, Mo Farah, broke David Moorcroft’s 34-year record for the 3,000 metres in a time of 7 minutes, 32.62 seconds. Mind you it was only broken by seventeen-hundredths of a second!

That was not the only exciting event of the day. Kenya's 800 metres Olympic Champion David Rudisha ran the rarely-run 600metres shot away from the start determined to prove he still has the speed and energy for the shorter run. What added to the excitement was that he didn't have it all his own way as he just held off Pierre-Ambroise Bosse of France to win in a time of 1 minute, 13.10 seconds.

It was clear that many of these athletes were laying down the gauntlet in their event in preparation for the Olympic Games in less than nine weeks.   

Another Kenyan, World Champion Asbel Kiprop bettered his own world leading time this year and set a new meeting record in the 1,500 metres.

The issue of drugs cheating in sport refuses to go away.  Earlier in the week I was able to chat with Asbel about the requirements set by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for a robust national anti-doping agency in Kenya that has powers to  enforce bans and establish drug-testing labs. I asked Asbel how it had affected him:

Kenyan athletes seemed to dominate this meeting, not  least in the 3,000 metres steeplechase for men where the first six  places were taken up by Kenyans. However it was Conseslus Kipruto who maintained his stranglehold on this Diamond League event by setting a new meeting record in a fast time of 8 minutes and twelve hundredths of a second, nearly breaking the magic 8-minutes barrier.

Finally, I must mention the fight for the line between two other Kenyan athletes in the longest run of the day, the women’s 5,000 metres.  It wasn't a particularly fast race but in the end only six-hundredths of a second separated first and second, with the diminutive Vivian Cheruiyot conquering her colleague and friend Mercy Cherono in a time of 15 minutes 12.79 seconds.

The last word goes to Mercy, who with Vivian, have only one thing on their mind now and that is the Kenyan trials selection for the Olympic Games taking place at the end of June.

By Norman Brierley

Why I work for Passion for Sport

Life stories are fascinating and Passion for Sport provides a platform for people to have their say. Whether in an interview with a sports personality or in a round table discussion on moral and ethical issues arising in sport, individuals can put their opinions across to an audience of sports fans who listen to our programmes.

I have always worked in media, TV, radio and the internet, and Passion for Sport allows me to combine my engineering gifts with my desire to see others have a relationship with Jesus. When I started working there were only three TV channels in the UK and hardly any Christian radio stations. The Christian message is worth hearing and is life changing so we need to be using all available media to get that message out.

An increasing number of people get their information and form their beliefs from what they read, hear and watch on the internet. People can now choose when and how they listen and watch. It’s mass communication but at the same time very personal. What’s even more exciting is that the communication can now be a two way conversation.

We have traditionally broadcast our programmes across a network of radio stations around the world.  We still do but additionally we now have Facebook pages, Twitter feeds and YouTube channels where our audiences can chose when they want to listen and can respond to us if they have something they’d like to say.

Jesus was a great communicator. He identified with his listeners by talking to them about their issues - fishing, taxes, sickness, relationships - and we need to communicate in a relevant way to our society just as Jesus did. Sport and Christian values overlap (Determination, positive thinking, belief, hard work, commitment, playing by the rules) and these provide great opportunities for Passion for Sport to promote a Christ-centred world view.

Our two weekly programmes Planet Sport and Planet Sport Football Africa expand on many of these issues and with years of experience our presenters produce programmes that are relevant and of a high quality. My job is to make sure that the programmes get heard reliably to as wide an audience as possible as we strive to introduce sports fans to Jesus through media.   

By Peter Ellis (Operations Manager)

Extending our reach in Africa

There are thousands of regional and local FM stations in Africa reaching unique audiences within a 30-mile radius of each station. Some are high powered commercial or government-run stations. Others are private, educational, religious, and community radio stations. There are talk stations and music stations and many are a mixture of news, talk and music and this is aside from the increasing number of web-based stations where there is no boundary. We are engaging with station and programme managers throughout Africa informing them about our two international sports programmes, Planet Sport and Planet Sport Football Africa, that they can schedule alongside their local sports programmes and so increase listenership to their station.

It's a struggle for many stations to maintain 24/7 presence on the air and many programme managers are grateful that someone else has done the research and produced a regular and complete sports programme from an international perspective. Many stations can compile a results-based sports programme as they too have access to the internet, but the Passion for Sport programmes are different as we discuss issues that arise from the sport from a moral, ethical and spiritual perspective. In addition we interview sportsmen and women many of whom are able to share their faith and life experiences as followers of Jesus Christ. 

Since January eight new stations have engaged with us for the first time, from West through to Southern Africa.

Moses Nyantee, station manager at ELWA in Monrovia Liberia commented: “These programmes will increase our listenership because our young people love sports.”

He went on to say that Planet Sport Football Africa is “very exciting – thank you plenty.” A couple of months later he wrote to say, “our folk love the programme.”

Martin Okudi from Usalama FM in northern Uganda and close to the South Sudan border assures us that our 15 minutes weekly multi-sport programmePlanet Sport can 'fit well' in their broadcast schedule. He added: “I have listened to the programme that has arrived and it is awesome and I will air it today!”  This is a station seeking to bring peace in the midst of war and hardship to the refugees of South Sudan.

One Love Radio in Lusaka joins two other stations in Zambia carrying our programmes. Station Manager Kaluwa Tembo says “I love the content and I know our listeners will enjoy the programmes. We really appreciate the great job that you guys are doing.” Thanks Kaluwa, that makes our day!

We've had a new addition, just a couple of weeks ago, and that is the first station in Nigeria to be taking our programmes – WE FM in Abuja. Whilst our Planet Sport Football Africa correspondent Solomon Izang Ashoms was taking part in a WE FM programme, he was able to introduce Production Engineer, Austin Kyunni to our programmes and now the talk station airs both programmes weekly.

West Coast Radio in the Gambia has had exclusive rights to our programmes in the country for the past three years and it is clear from the listener participation in ourPlanet Sport Football Africa programme that it is a popular programme across the nation.

One listener to Worship 101.7 FM in Liberia gets the whole family listening because, he says, “it is such a great time.”  The programmes are heard on four stations scattered along the lengthy Liberian coastline.  Another listener, Roland says, “I am so glad to 101.7 FM when I hear this programme. I love it. I love it. I love it. Please guys don't stop this programme. I'm appealing for time to be extended.”

The final word goes to George S who also listens on Worship FM, Liberia, “I'm excited about this programme Planet Sport,” he says. “I am a great lover of sport.  Big thanks to the whole crew and I can't wait for the next edition.”

You can hear these programmes by downloading the two free apps Planet Sport andPlanet Sport Football Africa or going on the website www.planetsport.tv.

Social Media – Extending our Reach

Social media allows us to engage with people who we might not otherwise have the ability or opportunity to. It lends itself to sharing and interaction, which is ultimately a huge part of what Passion for Sport is about. Our purpose is using media to share the good news of Jesus with sports fans around the world, so social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram provide us with new and more opportunities to do this.

We currently have over 2,000 fans of Planet Sport Football Africa on Facebook, and this number grows every day. Every week, we’re able to reach football fans across Africa with our radio programme and facilitate discussions via our topical posts.

When ‘Instagramming’ from sporting events, other users are able to find our posts via event hashtags – we’re especially looking forward to exercising this in Rio de Janeiro in August, as we aim to reach those following the summer sporting action out there!

On Twitter, we’ve had the opportunity to engage with, and encourage, sports fans as well as top Christian athletes such as Trayvon Bromell, Michelle Carter, Christian Taylor and Wayde van Niekirk. It’s also provided an opportunity for us to cheer on and even collaborate with other sports ministries in the UK and beyond.

Here are some examples of interactions we’ve had on Twitter recently…

Please do get in touch and join the conversation!

Twitter:

@planetsporttv

@planetsportfa

@pfsworld

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/planetsporttv

www.facebook.com/planetsportfootballafrica

www.facebook.com/pfsworld

Instagram:

passionforsport

Planet Sport: On air in Australia

Australia is one nation that loves its sport and Planet Sport, our weekly 15-minute programme, is currently heard on ten radio stations there across the country.

99.9 Live FM broadcasts to Townsville in North Queensland.  They told us why they broadcast Planet Sport:

“The opportunity to hear about the faith of some of the world’s biggest sports stars.  My only criticism is that it’s not long enough.”

91.9 Fresh FM is also in Queensland, based in the town of Gladstone.  This is what they say about Planet Sport:

“We air your programmes because we are confident that the sporting news and interviews are not sensationalised and because they come from a Christian perspective.  That’s what our audience want.”

Further down the east coast in Erina, New South Wales is 94.9 FM Rhema Central Coast.  The aim of the station is to bring the Gospel of Jesus and a message of hope into a hurting community.  Their audience is between 10,000 and 20,000 listeners every month.

They told us why they broadcast Planet Sport every week:

“It’s great to be able to give our listeners some insight into the world of professional sport and to hear from believers that operate in that realm.”

The general feedback they receive is that people enjoy hearing sports news from a Christian worldview.

Planet Sport looks at sport around the world and hears from some of the world’s top sportsmen and women.

The programme started in 2005 and since then there have been over 530 episodes. We have covered major sports events such as the Fifa World Cup and Olympic Games and spoken to over a hundred top athletes about their sport and faith as followers of Jesus Christ.

Please pray for sports fans listening to Planet Sport on the ten stations in Australia every week as we seek to introduce them to Jesus.

Will you also consider making a gift to maintain the ministry so that sports fans can continue to hear sportsmen and women talking about their faith in the living, risen Lord Jesus Christ on Planet Sport every week?  Thank you.

Destination Rio Update

Great news – we have found suitable accommodation for our media team during the 2016 Rio Olympics which run from 5th – 21stAugust. We have been in contact with a pastor of a church near the site of the Olympic Park and he has arranged for us to stay in a property adjoining his church.

The price of accommodation in Rio de Janeiro is very high during the Olympics so we are grateful for this provision at a very reasonable cost. The church has an ongoing ministry to those affected by crime and family breakdown in the city and it is good to be partnering with them in reaching sports fans with the gospel during the games.

The accommodation is empty at the moment and needs to be equipped with furniture and a good Internet connection. We are hoping that a member of the church will be willing to act as an interpreter for us during our stay which will also give us valuable local knowledge of the city.

Most of our team were in Rio de Janeiro for the FIFA World Cup™ in 2014 so we know the layout of the city and the transport networks. Our aim is to record good quality interviews with Olympic athletes and to report on the many Christian activities that will take place during the Games.  Although English is spoken widely across Rio, Norman Brierley speaks Portuguese and this will be a great help.

Our two weekly programmes Planet Sport and Planet Sport Football Africa have a growing following on social media such as Facebook and Twitter and Social Media Manager Tom Ellis will be actively working to increase this by posting regular updates and blog posts. Producer Pedro Arias, originally from Colombia, will be producing reports in Spanish for radio audiences in Europe and Central and South America.

You can follow all our activities from our websites and social media. Please pray that we will finalise the practical arrangements soon and that we will be successful in raising the finances needed to fund this project. If you think this is something you’d like to support click the link below for more information.

Thank you.

Music: bensound.com/royalty-free-music.

Passion for Sport Supporters' Club

Week-by-week Passion for Sport produces radio programmes, Planet Sport and Planet Sport Football Africa, which are a regular presence in the lives of many sports fans in different parts of the world.

They not only listen to the programmes broadcast by our partner radio stations but also follow them on Facebook and post their comments on Twitter and WhatsApp.

Here are a couple of examples from listeners in The Gambia:

“I will listen to Steve [producer Planet Sport Football Africa] today. Please tell him Moses in the Gambia is a huge fan of Planet Sport Football Africa. He always follows the show in radio, Facebook and WhatsApp.” (Moses, The Gambia)

“I was almost in tears as I missed the broadcast yesterday… very unfortunate! Can you please summarise the programme for me” (Cherno, The Gambia)

Through our regular presence on-air and online, relationships are developed providing an open door for the Gospel. But regular, constant ministry like this needs regular and constant support.

This is where the Passion for Sport Supporters’ Club comes in. Members of the Supporters Club give £4 per month enabling the listeners of one of our partner radio stations to hear 15 minutes of our programmes each month.

Yes, that’s right. For the price of a latte and Danish pastry members of the Passion for Sport Supporters Club are helping introduce sports fans, listening on one radio station, to Jesus. Fantastic value!

To find out more about the Supporters Club and to join up today, take a look at our dedicated Supporters’ Club page.

Running for Passion for Sport

The Vitality British 10K London Run takes place in London in July and Passion for Sport has reserved places for six runners. These six brave souls will run to raise funds for Passion for Sport.

Already four of the six places have been taken but there’s still time to sign up for the remaining two!

Passion for Sport IT Manager, Pete Ellis, is one of those running. He says, “Although this is no marathon, as a non-runner it will still present me with quite a challenge. I’m up to 6km with my training and with three months to go I’m hoping that I will be able to run the distance without stopping.”

Along with Passion for Sport trustee Phil Dominy, Social Media Manager Tom Ellis is also running and you can read his story below (10th March).

So if you fancy a challenge and want to join together with others to help raise money Passion for Sport, check out the details and complete the registration form.

If, like me, your knees just can’t take it, there is the opportunity to support those running by making a donation. Visit Virgin Money Giving to see who’s running, click on their photo to go through to their individual collecting page.

Destination Rio Update

With just over four months to go until the Passion for Sport team travels out to Rio de Janeiro to cover the 2016 Olympic Games we are busy sorting out everything we need for our visit. The main need is for accommodation for the team of five ideally in a central location in order to be where the action is during the games.

We have a local contact based in Rio who is looking into accommodation options for us and he is making good progress with that. Once the location has been sorted the next most important thing is a good internet connection which is essential to deliver our audio content to partner radio stations and to our websites.

The Passion for Sport team of five media professionals consists of:

Norman Brierley, Team leader and journalist

Pedro Arias, journalist and Spanish language reporter

Tom Ellis, journalist and Social Media Manager

Andy Bloss, journalist

Peter Ellis IT Manager and technical support

Most of our team were in Rio de Janeiro for the FIFA World Cup in 2014 so we know the layout of the city and the transport networks. Our aim is to record good quality interviews with Olympic athletes and to report on the many Christian activities that will take place during the Games.  Although English is spoken widely across Rio, Norman Brierley speaks Portuguese and this will be a great help.

Our two weekly programmes Planet Sport and Planet Sport Football Africa have a growing following on social media such as Facebook and Twitter and Tom Ellis will be actively working to increase this by posting regular comments and blog posts.  Producer Pedro Arias, originally from Colombia, will be producing reports and interview in Spanish for radio audiences in Europe and Central and South America.

You can follow all our activities from our websites and social media. Please pray that we will finalise the practical arrangements soon and that we will be successful in raising the finances needed to fund this project. If you think this is something you’d like to support take a look at our short video for more information.

Thank you.

Planet Sport On The Run

With many of us leading increasingly busy lives it can be tough to find time for our passions.  And so last year we introduced the Planet Sport app to make it easier for you to keep up with news from sports events, nurture your relationship with Jesus and introduce others to him too.

The free Planet Sport app for Android and iPhones enables you to listen to this week’s Planet Sport programme and recent editions on demand directly from your phone.

Adrian Barnard, Passion for Sport, CEO, explains: “The Planet Sport phone app is a great way to hear the weekly programme on the move – on the train, out jogging or down at the gym. Be encouraged as you hear sportsmen and women talking about their faith, and introduce the show to your friends.”

The Planet Sport app was launched at Christian Vision for Men’s annual event, “The Gathering”, in Swindon last June. As well as sports news, discussion on sports-related issues and testimonies from Christian athletes, players and officials, the Planet Sport programmes are also an opportunity to pray for the listening audience worldwide. Planet Sport programmes are also available on demand online at www.planetsport.tv and are broadcast on over 50 radio stations in 19 countries.

Planet Sport is a great way to introduce sports fans to Jesus and the app is a great resource to share with friends on the fringes of the church who are interested in sport.  This week’s show includes a report from a futsal project offering hope to children living in violent communities in Rio de Janeiro and an interview with world 400 metres champion, South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk, in which he talks about the centrality of his faith as a follower of Jesus Christ.  Listen to the interview with Wayde here or you can listen to the whole Planet Sport show here. 

The Planet Sport app can be downloaded from the iPhone or Android app stores – just search for Planet Sport.

Running the Race

 I remember clearly my first ever cross country race.  I didn’t finish it. To this day, I’m unsure if it was my asthma or my mind that had got the better of me, but either way, I remember it being incredibly hard work. Following that first race at high school, I went on to compete at a lot more cross country events up and down the country and I made sure I finished every one. They were always tough going and there’d be moments, half-way around every gruelling course, where I’d tell myself, “never again”. The thing is, by the time you’ve finished and experienced the wonderful satisfaction that comes with crossing the line, you soon forget the pain and begin to look forward to the next one.

So here I am, over a decade on, agreeing to run 10k for Passion for Sport at this year’s Vitality British 10K London Run (at least it’s not a marathon, I guess!).

I’ve been part of the staff team at PfS for the past year, working as a Social Media Manager. This involves managing all our social networking profiles and accounts, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. We use these profiles to share content and to engage with listeners and sports fans across the world. We also keep supporters up to date with all that we’re doing, in using media to introduce sports fans to Jesus.

In the summer of 2014, I had the opportunity to travel to Rio de Janeiro with the Passion for Sport team for the Fifa World Cup™. My role was to produce a feature for our daily radio programme and capture some of the atmosphere in the city during the tournament. Alongside the audio content we produced videos, wrote blog articles and facilitated debates on social media.

The team is once again busy preparing to head out to Rio this summer for the Olympic Games. This time, I’ll be responsible for managing content production, including material for our two weekly radio programmes Planet Sport and Planet Sport Football Africa, video content and social media updates. It will be a great opportunity to record interviews with athletes, hear their testimonies,  speak to fans from around the world and explore some of the social issues and Christian projects in the city. These big sporting events bring people together, uniting those of different backgrounds, faiths, races and cultures. It’s a chance for many to share a single passion – a passion for sport. We also see it as an incredible opportunity to share the good news of Jesus.

We’d love it if you’d consider supporting us in this adventure. One way could be to join our team running the Vitality British 10K London Run on July 10 this year!  Three runners have signed up already and we have another three places available.  It may be tough, but we want to run this race together and raise money for Passion for Sport. So why not test your perseverance and endurance and come and join us?

Click here for information about running for Passion for Sport at the Vitality British 10K London Run on July 10.