Why Are Catholics Better at Soccer?

A breakdown of 2018 World Cup teams by the dominant religious group in each country. See a larger version below.

The teams in this year’s World Cup seem to suggest that Catholic nations have disproportionate soccer skill. Nearly half of the 32 teams in the tournament are from predominantly Catholic countries, though only about 16 percent of the world’s population is Catholic.

I ran a little analysis to dig deeper.

There are about 200 countries in the world. From my brief examination, Catholics comprise the largest religious group in about 75 of those countries. In about 60 countries, Protestants make up the largest segment of the population, and Orthodox populations can say the same in about 10 countries. Muslims make up the biggest slice of the population in 50 nations, with Sunni states far outnumbering Shia ones. And the remaining countries have Hindu or Buddhist majorities.

This means approximately 37 percent of all countries have Catholic majorities, or the largest religious group is Catholic. Protestant countries are about 30 percent of the world. Orthodox, about 5 percent. Islamic countries, about 25 percent, with most of those being Sunni. And Hindu and Buddhist countries make up about 3 percent of countries.

But how does that translate in global soccer?

In the 2018 World Cup, 15 participating countries are Catholic (47 percent), 6 are Protestant (19 percent), and 2 are Orthodox (6 percent). The 6 Sunni countries make up another 19 percent of tournament countries, and single Shia and Buddhist nations each make up 3 percent of the field.

(Note, I’m not distinguishing between nominal faith and genuine religious commitment. Nor am I fussing over syncretistic version of Christianity. I’m simply measuring by general affiliation with a religion.)

What quickly becomes clear is that each religious group—designated along country lines—appears at the rate we would expect, based on global religious trends, except two: Catholics and Protestants.

While Muslim (both Sunni and Shia), Buddhist, and Orthodox Christian countries feature in this year’s World Cup at rates similar to what we’d expect, Catholic countries feature far more prominently and Protestant countries far less prominently than global patterns would suggest.

If religion at the World Cup mirrored religion around the globe, we would expect 12 Catholic countries and 10 Protestant countries in the tournament. However, we have 15 Catholic nations and only 6 Protestant ones represented. (Also note that Germany is a toss-up, with about an equal number of Catholics and Protestants.)

A breakdown of 2018 World Cup teams by the dominant religious group in each country.

So what might explain this discrepancy? Are Catholics simply better at soccer than Protestants?

Certainly, we know that soccer is most popular in Europe and in Central and South America. The latter is strongly Catholic, and the former is closer to a balance, though Catholics still outnumber Protestants.

But still, why would it be that soccer is popular in places where Catholics are dominant?

Faith, Football, and Finances

Correlations have been drawn between poverty and Catholicism (Catholic countries are often poorer than Protestant countries). Is that explained by the Protestant work ethic? Protestant schooling? Or the fact that Catholicism appeals more to the poor? Or is it simply a matter of geography and historical developments?

Relatedly, we know that soccer is one of the most popular sports in poorer countries, because the economic barriers to entry are minimal. So, there could be a simple correlation between Catholicism and soccer skill, connected by the third variable of rates of poverty.

Still, there are many undeveloped countries in the world, most of which are not nearly as good at soccer as the Catholic states. So what else might explain this phenomenon?

Variance in Values

Might cultural-religious values play a significant role in determining which countries excel at which sports?

Protestantism, whose countries were the first to propel into modernity and capitalism, tend toward individualism and capitalism while Catholicism, which is more tied to the church as an institution, along with its hierarchical structure, may tend more toward communalism. Perhaps this outworks in sport, with Protestant nations subconsciously leaning toward individual or superstar-based sports, and Catholic countries excelling in big-team communal sports like soccer.

Of course, this might be a hard sell. Athletes from Catholic countries are at the top of the pile in individual sports like tennis. And Protestant states certainly love their team sports, too.

An X-Factor

If it’s not economics, geography, or cultural-religious values, what else might explain the superiority of Catholic countries in soccer and the Protestant inferiority?

Is there some other theological or cultural clue that may tie these branches of Christianity to their success on the pitch? I welcome your thoughts!