Article: Lessons from the Sports World

Watching two English Premiership games this past weekend reminded me of the power of coaching and mentoring. Amazing how much we can glean even from moments when we decide to wind down over a game of football.

Scenes of Leicester City’s remembrance of their late chairman who recently died in a helicopter crash left me thinking about the need to leave a lasting legacy. His heart-broken thirty-three-year-old son is the vice president of the club and has resolved to carry on his father’s legacy. What a job well done by his late father in passing on his dream to his son.

Really interesting to know that when he bought over the club in 2010, they were doing poorly. But he had the dream to build up the club and win the English Premier League. An objective he was able to fulfill at least two years before his passing on. The fans were carrying banners with “Mr Chairman ” written on them. Very powerful images of the legacy of a man of non – British origins!

The second sporting event was the Manchester derby. It was apparently a game of two coaches with two contrasting game plans– an offensive Man City triumphed over a defensive Man United. There was an image of a clear succession plan as David Silva gave way to a young upcoming Man City player.

Lessons abound. Investing in the younger generation of leaders is key, especially in the spiritual realm. How critical it is to have a succession plan for continuity of the most excellent team in the universe? – God’s side!

*2 Tim 2:2* ; *Psalm 78*

Gilbert Kimeng