Stadium chapel may offer divine inspiration

Those saying Ireland don’t have a prayer against Spain at the European Championships might have to think again.

Because the Gdansk Arena, where the two countries meet on June 14, has one striking feature which you normally don’t find in football grounds — a small chapel conveniently located between the dressing rooms and the tunnel onto the pitch.

In addition, local organisers say that two Gdansk priests — one fluent in English and the other in Spanish — will be in attendance at the stadium on the day of the game for any players who wish to talk with them or even have their confessions heard.

The chapel has already been visited by some of the players of home club Lechia Gdansk as well as members of visiting teams before and after Polish Premier League games which have been played at the new venue since its opening in September of last year.

The tiny chapel was designed as an ecumenical facility so, as well as an altar and pews, there are religious images of different denominations on the walls. But a reminder that this is no ordinary spiritual sanctuary is something plainly visible on the main wall facing the seats — a clock rendered in the style of a football, presumably placed there to ensure that no player, however deeply lost in spiritual contemplation, loses track of the proximity to kick-off.

And whatever about his players, it hardly requires a great leap of imagination to see Giovanni Trapattoni — a man of faith who is known to put great store in holy water — popping in here for a moment’s thought and perhaps even to seek some extra inspiration, before his team takes to the field to face the reigning world and European champions.