For 17 years Matt Baker has been the pastor of Charlton and Blackheath Christian Fellowship, but he has now “hung up his boots” to take on a much bigger congregation as pastoral support director in English football.

Working as part of the full time staff of SCORE, the national sports chaplaincy charity, Mr Baker will seek to develop the role and the range of chaplains within the game. The post is being funded for the next two years by a partnership with the Professional Footballers’ Association, the Premier League and the Football League Trust.

“The stresses and pitfalls of professional footballers are often played out in a very public arena,” said Baker. “Chaplains can play an important role in the nurturing and mentoring of the young people entering the sport, helping to create positive role models for the future.”

Drawing from 10 years experience as chaplain to Charlton Athletic, Baker is well aware of the ups and downs that affect everyone in a club, and of the influence the local football club can have within its community.

“We’ve been involved with initiatives against racism and street violence," he commented, “and recently a link has been built between the local Street Pastors and the Charlton Athletic Community Trust programme.”

That experience will now be put to good use supporting the 70-plus SCORE chaplains in English League clubs, developing that network further, and working closely with the governing bodies.