FOOTBALL fans in Hartford are being urged to swap their pub sofas for a sacred seat.

St John's Church, in association with Christ Church, Greenbank, will host a series of events during the World Cup, which starts on Friday.

The Rev Mike Smith, who will support his home side Australia in the international competition, wants members of the public to dispel their judgements and embrace soccer fever at the church in The Green.

He said: "The important thing is for local people interested in the World Cup to feel they can join us for these events so we can all get to know each other and enjoy the spectacle as a community.

"This is a great opportunity for families to come together to enjoy the matches with younger children who cannot enter pubs and bars."

Matches, starting with the England v Paraguay tie at 2pm on Saturday, will be shown on a big screen and no admission fee will be charged.

Spectators can also enjoy complimentary non-alcoholic drinks and snacks while they cheer on their team.

There will also be a family barbecue on June 25 and an over 15s football tournament next month.

Outreach organiser Paul Bell said: "It can be very daunting to enter a church for the first time and at St John's we try very hard to provide a warm, inviting atmosphere.

"Using the World Cup as a vehicle to invite people in is natural for us.

"We have tried to provide something for both sexes and all ages but we do particularly invite men to attend at least one of these events.

"We have organised speakers including Ken Howells, from Blackburn Rovers Football Club, and Noel Proctor, the Strangeways prison chaplain during the 1990 riots.

"They tell very interesting stories of life in male dominated worlds."

To find out more, visit www.stjohnshartford.org/worldcup or call 01606 783063.