When cynical footie fans see a ‘Jesus saves’ slogan, their witty reply has often been “but Le Tissier puts in the rebound”.
by Andrew Halloway
In fact, footballing legend Matt Le Tissier was nicknamed ‘Le God’ by Southampton supporters, such was his seemingly supernatural mastery of football skills and his spectacular goals. But Matt was baptised last September after finding something even more important than being loved by football fans: the love of God.
Matt, who spent all of his sporting career from 1986 to 2002 at Southampton (“Saints”), wasn’t brought up in a religious family. His journey to faith began during the Covid-19 pandemic, when he began to think more about the big things in life – like good and evil. His scepticism over the Covid crisis and some of the Ukraine war coverage led to his dismissal as a Sky Sports pundit, which from the outside seemed like a career worst for the sports star who had previously enjoyed widespread approval. But not everyone shunned him. “Dave Merrington, youth team manager at Southampton, was a Christian and he’s always played a big part in my life and my career. We’ve stayed in touch all these years. In 2023 his wife passed away and I was invited to her funeral. (Photo – Matt Le Tissier, Wikimedia Commons license)
“I walked into the church that day and I had the most amazing feeling… I felt this warmth… and I had this feeling that I belong here.” At the funeral he also heard an inner voice that he now believes was God’s Holy Spirit telling him, “You need to come here”. Matt started going to the Baptist church in Southampton every Sunday and met regularly with Dave Merrington and the church pastor: “They were incredibly supportive and informative. I just wanted to know more about Jesus.
“Just before Christmas 2023, we were sat in the church and I decided this is what I want to do with the rest of my life. I want to be a Christian, I want to follow Jesus, and I declared that day that that is what I was going to do.”
Matt still meets the pastor every two or three weeks: “We have a chat about football as he’s a big Saints fan, and then we talk about the Bible and the Lord… and I’m learning lots of things.”
In a podcast with Rev Jamie Franklin, Matt said that he now feels that his life has a purpose, and that “my life is better for it”.
Since finding faith he says he has no regrets and “it’s had a very calming effect on me… I’d like to think I’ve developed a lot more patience and I’m hoping that I become a better human being”.
Andrew Halloway is a British freelance editor, writer and publishing consultant. He is also editor of Good News—a national monthly evangelistic newspaper (www.goodnews-paper.org.uk). Andrew has 18 years’ experience as an editor and publishing manager in the Christian publishing world, and holds a first class honours degree in Humanities. He has long had an interest in the creation/evolution debate, and is the contributing editor of ‘The Delusion of Evolution’, a magazine-style evangelistic booklet that has sold over 23,000 copies in the UK (available from www.newlife.co.uk).