This’ll Be a Kick!

Got plans for Thanksgiving this year? Let’s spend it in Qatar at the World Cup! For the first time ever the quadrennial global football/soccer championship will be held in the Arab World. It runs from Nov. 21 until the final match on December 15th. (We don’t have to stay the whole time.)

Why does this matter to us? 

  1. Positive attention on a Muslim country and Muslims in general. Yes, Qatar has its issues. Their choice as host was mired in a global-level sports scandal soap opera that makes my eyes cross! They’ve also been officially terrible to the laborers building stadiums, but that act seems to have been cleaned up a bit.
  2. Tons of reasons to chat with Muslims. Do all Muslims love football? Do all Christians love potluck dinners? No, but the ratios are probably similar. (Low hanging fruit question: “Got a favorite for the World Cup?”)
  3. Legit reason to watch sports! This isn’t just for fun. This sports thing has purpose! (Like a church Super Bowl party on steroids. The last World Cup final gathered half a billion viewers. The last Super Bowl 150 million.)

What can we do: 

  1. Choose a team to be your team. I’m not going to tell you who to pick, (The U.S. is in!) but here are the current Muslim majority countries who’ve qualified: Qatar, Senegal, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Morocco. (Who’s your fav? Comment below.) Senegal is my side. (Unless someone convinces me otherwise.)
  2. Make a commitment to pray for your team’s country. (Here’s a good place to start.)
  3. Enter the Muslim Connect Final Four Contest. Predict (Guess?!?) what four teams will reach the World Cup Finals. I’ll choose one correct entry and help you host a finals watch party with food and decorations for you and your Muslim friends.

 

If you’ve found value in Muslim Connect, I’d like to invite you to contribute to a special project that will help Muslim Connect stay fresh and get better. You can read the details here. The short version: A ministry trip to connect with Muslims in north India in February. Donate here to keep Muslim Connect popping.

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4 Comments

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4 Responses to This’ll Be a Kick!

  1. Elisabeth

    SENEGAL!!!

  2. Some friends of ours who live in Senegal were just here. YES, they are hyped about the World Cup! So, I’ll throw my “hat” in with them!

  3. Butch

    Gotta Go USA…I just hope they make it past the knock-out stage 🙂

  4. BEATRIX WATOFA

    I will go for Qatar as the host

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