How the religious movement in football caused a wave of hat
Borussia footballer Felix Nmecha has been at the center of a scandal over his ties to the religious movement Ballers in God. How it appeared in football and why it caused negativity in Europe - in the material "RBC Sport"
German footballer Dortmund “Borussia” Felix Nmecha 7 November scored two goals in the match of the championship of Germany with “Elversberg” (2: 1). During the celebration, the German midfielder knelt down, pretended to remove the crown from his head, put it on the lawn and pointed to the sky, symbolically handing over the crown to God. This caused discontent of the football community, including the Dortmund club, its fans, as well as the German Football Union and the leadership of the national team.
Nmecha is not the first to celebrate a goal in the style of the Christian campaign The King’s Return, the conservative evangelical movement Ballers in God, which includes many football stars.
Ballers in God (BIG) is an international movement founded in 2015 by former British footballer John Bostock with the aim of spreading the Christian values and teachings of Jesus Christ in professional football. In an interview, Nmecha called Bostok his mentor.
The total audience of movement on various digital platforms exceeds 1 million subscribers.
How Ballers in God declared themselves at the World Cup-2026
Despite the fact that the movement was founded in 2015, it was widely discussed during the World Cup-2026.
After the matches, the players of the US national team, bowing their heads, stood around the defender of the team, Mark McKenzie, who got on his knee, who then gave a speech. This tradition in the US national team originated in friendly matches before the World Cup. And after a friendly match with Germany, German players Nmecha and Jonathan Ta joined them for prayer.
Bostock told The Athletic that he had contacted McKenzie before the World Cup to discuss the possibility of spreading Christian ideas among footballers. According to him, the movement is developing thanks to the initiative of the athletes themselves and brings together players from different countries.
"It was a very important moment," McKenzie told The Athletic about post-match prayer. In this team and among the staff there are players and people from different backgrounds, with different life experiences and backgrounds. But there is power in prayer. It brings people together in ways you may not even suspect. And I think there is beauty in that.”.
The founder of BIG claims that the main task of the organization is to help football players to know Jesus Christ and spread Christian values in professional sports.
After the game for the third place at the world Cup, the players of the national teams of France and England arranged a joint prayer. Among them, in particular, were Daio Upamecano, Bucayo Saca and Eberechi Eze.
Photos of teams from the US, France and England quickly spread on the Internet, and a video of joint prayer after the match for bronze appeared on the account of Ballers in God on Instagram (part of the Meta Corporation, recognized as extremist and banned in Russia) with the caption “Reds for 90 minutes”. Brothers in Christ forever.”.
Why Footballers Are Banned From Celebrating The Return of the King
For several seasons, the English Premier League (EPL) has held annual actions in support of the LGBT movement (the international LGBT movement is recognized as extremist and banned in Russia), in which players wore rainbow armbands. However, many footballers refused to support the campaign because of religion. Some of them are BIG supporters, such as Arsenal leader Ebereci Eze, Manchester City's leading defender Antoine Semeño and others.
In the summer of 2025, the Premier League announced the termination of the action, after which the BIG in social networks published a post: “We prayed.” We fasted. And God heard us. This is not about hate, but about love.
Then the BIG statement did not cause resonance due to the unknown in wide circles. However, during the World Cup, journalists became interested in the movement.
TV channel ARD found on the website The King's Return a link to the consulting chat of the American organization of evangelicals Groundwire, which is engaged in educating the younger generation through digital media. Journalists asked several questions in the chat as a test of tolerance. In the end, the test failed. For example, a chat counselor called abortion “Satan’s plan.” Also, BIG was accused of proselytism (the desire to convert non-believers to their faith) through star footballers, including, for example, the winner of the Golden Ball Kaka.
Against the background of the discussion, the official Borussia fan association issued a statement in which it stressed that it did not question Nmechi’s right to profess Christianity and publicly express his religious beliefs. The claims of fans are related to the activities of religious associations that allow discrimination and depreciation of people.
German Football Union (DFB) sports director Rudy Feller and coach Jurgen Klopp spoke to Nmechey after the match. And the footballer convinced them that he does not share the “erroneous values” associated with the beliefs of this organization, reports Bild. The player himself wrote on Instagram after the meeting that his gesture was not aimed at promoting any organization or spreading discriminatory views. According to Nmeci, in this way he wanted to express his faith in Jesus Christ.
Borussia also demanded that BIG not use Nmecha and other players of the team in its advertising publications. According to ARD, the president of the club, Hans-Joachim Watzke, said that the team demanded from Nmeci to abandon the celebration of goals in the style of “Return of the King”. Borussia also intends to sue Ballers in God, according to ARD.
