Impact0618

Football star’s new life o
Signing a professional football
contract at the age of 18, playing
in the Premier League with the
likes of Rooney and Gerrard
and winning the FA Cup reads
like a childhood’s dream. And so it was
for Linvoy Primus, whose dream fast
became a reality when Charlton Athletic
came knocking on his door with a key to
fame and fortune.
But by the age of 27, a year into his
contract with Portsmouth FC, Primus
realised something was missing from
his life, a hole that even the love of avid
Pompey supporters could not fill.
“My wife got invited to church and
initially I went along to make up the
numbers, but then I heard about
Jesus, you know, that you could have a
relationship with him. And it was probably
after about six weeks of asking difficult
questions that I finally realised that I’d
filled my life with all these different things
and by filling my life with everything I had
really taken God out of the picture…I
realised the one thing missing from my
life was Jesus and I needed to start
having a relationship with him.
“Weeks later I had an encounter with
God where I was healed. I got hit by his
power and at that moment I said ‘God
whatever you want me to do I will do
because I know you are real, I know this
is it.’ And I really believe that it was this
surrender that allowed him to do things
through me that were way beyond what I
could imagine.”
Primus believes that it was no
coincidence that this realisation
marked a dramatic improvement in his
performances on the pitch. Eyes opened
to a deep understanding of how God
saw him, Primus was freed from the
burdening pressures of results and a
desire to please ‘every single fan’.
“It was understanding who God said
I was and changing my thinking to how
God thought that brought real peace,
real freedom and a new lease of life.
I stopped worrying about the results, I
started to think that as long as I gave 110
per cent for God, whatever result it was at
the end of the game, at least I’d done my
all for God, so it took a real pressure off.”
But even these improved performances
on the pitch, didn’t shelter him from
changing room banter.
“It was difficult at first, it really was.
They didn’t understand where I was
coming from. They had a perception of
Christianity which was…Christians wear
sandals and socks, Bible bashing, never
playing on a Sunday and stuff like that.”
However, over his ten years at Fratton
Park, Primus noticed a gradual ‘softening
to Christianity’ and by the end of his
career he saw five fellow players and
staff members also become Christians.
“After about a year, the lads’ attitude to
me was different; they stopped ganging
up on me and they started coming to me
individually asking me for prayer. Harry
(Redknapp) allowed us to start prayer
meetings before games and gradually
over the years guys just wanted to meet
and pray together. It was great!”
Retiring in 2009, due to a knee injury,
Primus stayed on at the club in an
ambassadorial role whilst continuing his
work with ‘Faith and Football’, a charity
set up with teammate Darren Moore in
2002, which aims to make a difference
in local communities through providing
Christian role models.
St Chad’s Church, Linden Avenue, Woodseats
Church Offi ce: Linden Avenue, Sheffi eld S8 0GA
Tel: (0114) 274 5086
Page 8
email: offi ce@stchads.org
website: www.stchads.org