“Why should a football club have a chaplain? What would a chaplain do?” asked Watford and future England manager Graham Taylor to John Boyers. Through a series of “God ordained” circumstances John became the Chaplain for Graham Taylor and the Watford Football Club where he provided spiritual and pastoral advice and support to the players and staff during their amazing rise to the top league in England in the period 1977 onwards. He was asked to move up to Manchester in September 1992, to be Chaplain to Manchester United.
John had stepped forward in faith to begin SCORE in 1990/1991 (a UK based Sports Chaplaincy program) which now works across the UK and seeks to resource over 200 ministers who serve local sports clubs as chaplains.He now has a more international role with SCORE but still serves as the Chaplain for the Manchester United Football Club.
John has traveled extensively as a “Sports Chaplain,” including to the Vancouver Olympics. He has written a fascinating perspective on life and the world of football in “Beyond the Final Whistle”. He currently lives in Manchester with his wife Anne, whom he met at the Christian Union during his college days. They have two grown sons: Andrew and Jonathan. John recently retired as Manchester United’s Chaplain.You can find out more about John’s past and current travels as a “Sports Chaplain” and learn more about John and his work at: http://www.sportschaplaincy.org.uk