With the 2026 World Cup expected to draw the eyes of more than five billion this summer, one ministry is challenging Christians to turn their living rooms into unlikely mission fields, using soccer and hospitality to spark genuine relationships and lasting hope as matches kick off this June. 

Hinted at by its name, Victory Beyond the Cup is a resource that equips churches, faith leaders and all believers to host World Cup watch parties that blend faith into the game. Rather than treating the tournament as a mere sporting competition, the initiative presents the World Cup as a global moment to open homes, build relationships across cultures and spark meaningful conversations that point toward hope.

The campaign is being offered by Cru Ministries’ Athletes in Action, a global Christian sports organization with a mission to develop athletes across faith, life and sport. With under a week to go before the first match, the team has set an ambitious goal of mobilizing 100,000 believers across 10,000 churches to actively participate.

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Heather Reddy, executive director and leader of the initiative, recalls the seeds that would become Victory Beyond the Cup.

“It was about four years ago that my sister, the project manager of Victory Beyond the Cup, and I knew the tournament was coming to North America (Canada, the U.S. and Mexico are co-hosts). We both grew up playing soccer, played in college, and having worked with professional athletes, we knew the power of the World Cup and the impact that it has as an opportunity to gather people,” she told The Catholic Register. 

“We knew we needed to do something while we had the chance, and the heart behind the campaign was that we wanted it to be something that we couldn't do on our own. We want to rely on other ministries and churches to get involved and champion it — we've just been pushing it ever since.”

At its heart, Victory Beyond the Cup is a simple proposal to Christians: invite friends, neighbours, co-workers, classmates or teammates into your home to enjoy a World Cup match together, then use the setting to listen well, ask curious questions and love guests intentionally. 

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For Reddy, the World Cup provides the ideal background and partnership for such interactions thanks to its uniquely universal appeal and pre-established connection to faith, hope and grandeur. 

“It really is the one sport where you can take a ball into any country and start a pickup game immediately. It is a world sport, a way to cross cultures and faith backgrounds, with an opportunity for us to sit and watch together. We can then trust that the Lord will continue to work in people’s lives as we get to know them better,” she said. 

Reddy says the heart of the project is hospitality, curiosity and intentionality. Crucially, Victory Beyond the Cup is designed to avoid any sense of agenda-driven gatherings, as it carries an emphasis on authentic hospitality rather than performance-based hosting. Any deeper dialogue, the campaign stresses, should flow naturally; even if it doesn’t happen during the game, the real goal is the beginning of an improved relationship, not a checklist of talking points. 

“ I agree that the last thing we want is for people to experience a ‘Jesus juke’ where someone is coming for a party and all of a sudden it’s about talking about Jesus immediately,” Reddy said. “I think the biggest thing is to go in thinking that these are people you care about, and that this is not a project.  The goal is to have people come into our home, have a great time and know that they were loved well and cared for.” 

Athletes in Action hopes to have an impact that outlasts the tournament long after a champion nation is crowned on July 19. By establishing relationships with people who might never enter a church otherwise, Victory Beyond the Cup is set to both offer fans an experience of Christian love and hospitality, while also equipping believers with the confidence and tools for gospel conversations for the rest of their lives.

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“ Maybe this is just the first step that brings people into the church a year or two down the road, but we can start to love people well and share with them how God has changed our lives through His joy, peace and patience in a loving and humble way,” Reddy said. 

For more information, see victorybeyondthecup.com.