England were playing football against Colombia in 1995 when something incredible happened. It was a friendly match, trundling along without much excitement in front of a threadbare Wembley crowd of about 20,000 spectators. Jamie Redknapp, a midfield player, attempted to launch a long ball into the Colombian box but the flight of Read more
Delighted that the Baptist Times has published my parable about the football genius Maradona. Picture it. We are enjoying Sunday lunch with friends and the conversation turns to football. It could be Brexit but it isn’t. Before you know it, the diners are debating that pressing question. Who Read more
It’s World Cup time – so some thoughts on Neymar, the Brazilian superstar. Neymar is more than just a footballer. He is a brand and a way of life. The Brazilian star is the epitome of modern football as he travels the world with his friends in his luxurious Read more
Is Maradona the best footballer of all time? Worldwide there are 200,000 worshippers of Diego who attend the church of Maradona. The faithful follow their own ‘bespoke’ ten commandments which urge them to ‘love football above everything’ and ‘name your first son Diego’. The Church of Maradona insists that you get Read more
In 2003 football hard man and actor Vinnie Jones admitted assaulting an airline passenger and drunkenly claiming he could have a flight crew “murdered for £3,000”. Jones became incandescent with rage when a fellow passenger, Stephen Driscoll told him he was being “annoying”, sparking a tirade of aggressive threats from Read more
The Story Glenn Hoddle was born in the suburbs of London in 1957. He became one of the most exciting and gifted footballers ever to play for England. In 1998 he was sacked from his job as the manager of the England team because of the following comments he made Read more
Theme It is the mark of a true Christian to love both God and neighbour. It is very instructive to compare and contrast the lives of John Westwood and Gilberto da Silva. Both men love football but one does this in a good way and the other in a bad Read more
We are delighted to inform you that RealityBites director Mark Roques has been shortlisted for a Jerusalem Award 2015 in the category of Short Form Radio. The feature was entitled Football and Faith and here follows a bit of background about the radio spot. The World Cup attracts huge global Read more
Mark is away this week, so here’s something you may have missed last month. As anticipation mounted for the World Cup final, a feature about football and faith went out on 6th July on 16 local radio stations around the country: from Yorkshire Coast Radio to Cornwall’s Pirate FM. Mark was a Read more
In the past few weeks, RealityBites director Mark Roques has partnered with Whistling Frog Productions (Bradford) and St George’s church in Leeds to bring RB stories and teaching to thousands of people in West Yorkshire. On Christmas day Mark delivered six football monologues on the Pulse of West Yorkshire radio Read more