All praise the spiritual wave sweeping global football

Football is often chastised for the more seedy, salacious and hedonistic lifestyles of players with bulging wallets and celebrity lifestyles. Indeed, footballers are seen on newspaper front pages as often as they are on the back.

Tales of crashed supercars, scuffles outside nightclubs, extra marital affairs – even doing the dirty on your brother – are the norm, with a new phrase ‘roasting’ even being born. The public looked on and muttered under their breath.

The beautiful game is capable of many renaissance periods, however, and it lately appears that a wonderful movement of new found spirituality has found its way into the game.

The wonderful Brazilian Kaka was the first to embrace this. Everyone was aware of the importance of God in Kaka’s life – he even wore t-shirts under his jersey to that effec, and has always been a model professional in every respect.

It was therefore no surprise when he looked upwards to the heavens and held both hands up with his index fingers pointed skywards in thanks to God for the goal that he had just scored.

What has been surprising is just how profound an effect that Kaka’s beliefs have had.

It would now appear that nearly all professional footballers have adopted his celebration in giving thanks – index fingers to the sky, the back arched and the head held back, sweat glistening in the floodlights.

In an average Premiership game, footballers are saluting the heavens in exactly the same way as Kaka whether entering or exiting the pitch, or even for being awarded a simple throw-in.

It is truly inspirational to see how quickly this new found morality and spirituality has swept the game. Suggestions that players are simply imagining a mirror image of themselves are surely unfounded.

In time, one must hope that the media grasps this paradigm shift overtaking global football and that the newspapers spend less time harrassing these most noble of gladiators. It is time to turn a blind eye to the perceived excesses of their downtime – they are of under extreme pressure and need their release valve.

Football is a global game now, so mosques, churches, temples and synagogues must surely be bursting at the seams with new attendees.

Extra car parking will be required – maybe even a valet for all the Bentleys and Range Rovers. The donation jars will surely be stuffed to the brim.

Bearing this in mind, we may see a shift away from staggered kickoff times over the weekend as TV has to come in line with players’ needs to attend their various places of worship.

I for one feel invigorated by this new movement across football, and see what I once thought of as those I once saw as overpaid lager louts in a completely new light. They should be commended for mending their ways.

Three cheers for Kaka!