Charlie Wood
Crystal Palace lifted their first-ever major trophy after inching past Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup Final, capping off an impressive season that once threatened regression in league placement.
Eberechi Eze’s winning goal in the 16th minute sent the Palace fans into jubilant celebrations. Yet on the pitch, many of the players dropped to their knees, looked up to the sky, and offered thanks to God. Eze himself gave glory to God for his goal and visibly mouthed “Only God” during his overtly religious expression.
Christianity has been one of the main factors in the upturn of Crystal Palace’s form since the beginning of 2025.
The relatively settled starting XI includes numerous devout Christians who frequently reference the impact God and faith have on their daily life.
The formidable back line, which consists of Maxence Lacroix, Marc Guehi, Chris Richards, Tyrick Mitchell, and the impressive Daniel Munoz, only conceded one goal en route to FA Cup victory and all are outspoken on the role of Christian faith in their lives.
“I think in this team the hand of God was on all the players”
Lacroix explained openly the impact Christianity has had on the squad by improving the personal bond between teammates.
The self-proclaimed pastor of the team said: “I speak a lot about Jesus, about God. I love God. I know a lot about the Bible, about Jesus and I try to give what I know.”
After the final triumph, he added: “I just want to say thank you to Jesus because today everyone saw the hand of God…I think in this team the hand of God was on all the players.”
Lacroix leads prayers in the new prayer room at the Palace training ground, a spiritual hub for notable players such as Eddie Nketiah, club captain Joel Ward, and talisman Eze.
Eze, who has had his most prolific season for the Eagles, often celebrates by pointing to the sky and making a crucifix with his fingers – a public affirmation of faith that has become his signature.
The closeness of the squad is evident to football fans. Their shared off-field belief system has provided players with a definitive sense of identity, developing deeper connections and friendships, producing tangible effects on the pitch.
However, in a secularised sporting world and wider society, this devout religion does not come without its critics.
Despite religious messaging being banned on kits, Guehi wrote the message ‘Jesus loves you’ on his rainbow captain’s armband.
He wore the armband twice in November of 2024; in a draw at home to Newcastle and in the victory over Ipswich – in which Ipswich’s Sam Morsy refused to wear the armband due to “religious beliefs.”
Sceptics will always scrutinise the value of religion within the sporting arena.
Yet, the development of religion into the team ethos, and its prevalent team-building benefits, is the exact environment manager Oliver Glasner has been attempting to craft.
Glasner has forged a culture that promotes personality and flair while driving standards and reinforcing discipline.
In the changing rooms after the win, he said: “If you invest in something, you get something back guys…if you take this for your life, if you invest in something, in sports, families, and friendships, then you get the return.”
In a poignant moment after his victory speech, Glasner turned to long-serving captain Ward to provide the closing statements before the party started.
Fighting back emotion, Ward turned to scripture and cited Jeremiah 29:11 to provide a message of hope and destiny, asserting that going forward, this Palace squad can “achieve incredible things.”
Whether a believer or not, the story of Crystal Palace’s season serves as an example of the importance of a team’s culture and connectedness in sporting performance.
Charlie Wood
Featured image courtesy of Samuel Regan-Asante via Unsplash. Image use license found here (Unsplash). No changes were made to this image.
In article image 1 courtesy of @cpfc via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 2 courtesy of @cpfc via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.
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