In 2004 John Paul II marked the start of the Athens Olympics by adding a ‘Church and Sport’ section to the Pontifical Council for the Laity. The new section had a broad remit, ranging from ‘acting as a reference point for national and international sports organisations’, to ‘sensitising local churches of the need to provide pastoral care in sports environments’, to ‘encouraging a sports culture which promotes sport as a way to develop the whole person and as an instrument at the service of peace and brotherhood between nations’. Over the years John Paul II, who had been a footballer in his youth and remained a keen skier while Archbishop of Kraków, made numerous addresses to gatherings of athletes, in which he celebrated sport, ‘when played and understood in the right way’ as ‘a shining expression of the highest vales of human life and social harmony’. In fact, though John Paul was unique among popes both in the frequency of his pronouncements on sport and in the extent of his sporting practice, many of his predecessors, going back to Pius X in the early 1900s, have shown an interest in sport and have spoken publicly about its potential value.

Several Archbishops of Canterbury have practised sports and watched sporting events. For example, Randall Davidson (Archbishop 1903–28) enjoyed fishing and shooting and George Carey (1989–2002) is an Arsenal fan. But they have until recently seen it as a private hobby. However, in 2019 the Bishop of Derby, Libby Lane, was appointed the church’s Bishop for Sport. Then in February 2020, the church announced its ‘National Sport and Wellbeing Project’. This had a more specific agenda than that of the Catholic ‘Church and Sport’ section, since it was attached to the church’s ‘Evangelism and Discipleship Team ’.