THE football season has begun again.

Argentinean legend Diego Maradona once said: “Football isn’t a game, or a sport; it’s a religion.”

If football is a religion then I am definitely an atheist.

I am not an ignorant atheist because I do completely understand why people follow football. But I haven’t got the inclination.

Yes, I understand the offside rule. But you can understand a sport and still not be particularly interested in it.

When I was at university I lived with a football fanatic for three years.

She was a diehard Spurs fan and season ticket holder, and football was definitely her religion. She would not leave the country in season in case she missed some vital transfer decision.

Football could send her sky high, and also deep down into the vilest of moods.

She really cared. She still does.

My friend was a demon at the Name Game – you know the game where you write the names of celebrities and have a minute to guess who they are. She would always write down obscure Romanian players with unpronounceable names that I’d never heard of.

So bearing this in mind, you might be surprised to hear that I have been volunteering at a football festival – Knights of Wincanton organised by some of my school friends.

In 1993, a hastily assembled team, consisting of musicians and Sunday morning footballers laid the foundations of a community that has drawn members from all around the world.

The Wessex Allstars has no affiliation with competitive football leagues but has achieved success with a positive approach that promotes honesty and integrity.

This has enabled them to maintain longevity, with a healthy input of members throughout the years.

For 20 years, teams from all over the world have been gathering at football pitches in far flung places to compete in a tournament, listen to music and celebrate life.

It’s not a commercial tournament, it’s organised by a ragtag band of merry folk, and all the profits are donated to charity. It’s a festival of fun and football.

So I have been pulling pints dressed as a medieval wench, picking up litter, and generally supporting the Wessex Allstars.

I will not be joining the church of football any time soon but that doesn’t mean I can’t empathise with those that do.

l Writer and journalist Clare Macnaughton’s latest book is available on Amazon worldwide.

Modern Military Mother – Tales from the Domestic Frontline is an honest account of a decade of being married to an RAF officer serving in the British military. Follow Clare on twitter: @amodmilitarymum.

Blog: amodernmilitary mother.com.