With the 2026 World Cup in full swing, football is the topic of the moment in Rotterdam. But one story connected to this World Cup summer has little to do with the score line and everything to do with faith. Desmond Armstrong, a legend of American soccer, was baptised into the Orthodox Church this past March, along with his wife and youngest daughter.

Desmond Armstrong may not be a household name in the Netherlands, but American football historians know him well. In 1990 he became the first African American to play for the US at a FIFA World Cup, and he later became the first American to sign with a Brazilian club, building a Hall of Fame career along the way. This past March, though, he made headlines of a very different kind: he, his wife, and his youngest daughter were baptised into the Orthodox Church.

What makes his story feel close to home for us in Rotterdam isn’t his football résumé; it’s the community he lives in day to day. As a youth soccer coach in Nashville, Armstrong works with families from Kurdish, Coptic Egyptian, Syrian, Somali, and Congolese backgrounds, a mix of cultures and journeys that will feel very familiar to anyone who knows Rotterdam, one of the most internationally diverse cities in Europe. Our own parish reflects that same patchwork of backgrounds, and Armstrong’s story of building friendships through sport before ever discussing faith mirrors how many of our own community’s conversations about Orthodoxy actually begin.

In a conversation with Fr. Chris Metropulos on Orthodox Christian TV, Armstrong described decades of moving between Protestant traditions before landing on a question many converts to Orthodoxy recognise: if a church only traces its roots back a few centuries, what happened to everyone and everything before that? That question sent him digging into church history and eventually to a small Orthodox parish just minutes from his home. He now describes his approach to sharing his faith with others simply as an invitation: “Come and see.”

That phrase captures something that can feel countercultural in the fast-paced climate of the Netherlands: Orthodoxy isn’t a slick pitch or a single emotional moment but an invitation into an ancient, living community, worshipping the way Christians have for two thousand years.

Whether you grew up Orthodox, are an expat far from your home parish, or are simply curious after a summer of World Cup matches, we’d encourage you to watch Armstrong’s conversation. If you’re short on time, jump to around the 20-minute mark, where he explains the church history question that changed everything for him. And in the same spirit he describes, we invite you to come and see for yourself. Our doors in Rotterdam are open.

Watch “From the World Cup to the Orthodox Church—US Soccer Star Desmond Armstrong on his Life & Faith” on the Orthodox Christian TV YouTube channel