The Sockball: A Symbol of Dreams

The icon of Socktober, a tattered, oddly shaped ball, bound with string and filled with socks and recycled materials, has become a recognised symbol within Catholic school communities across Australia.

Many students have made or will make their own version of what we call the ‘sockball’ as part of their Socktober journey. It’s a fun and interactive way of connecting our young people with those they are supporting. This ball was modelled on the very kind you will find being kicked about by children in laneways, plazas, and dusty playing fields from Addis Ababa to Chennai to Buenos Aires. Even Pope Francis honed his soccer skills with a sockball.

“I have a memory ... of the ball of rags, the ‘pelota de trapo’: leather was expensive, and we were poor, rubber was not yet so common, but it was enough for us a ball of rags to have fun and almost perform miracles playing in the square near home.” – Pope Francis, 2021 (La Gazetta dello Sport)

When students in Australia make their own sockball and kick it around as part of Socktober, they share in the experience of children right across Africa, Asia, South America and the Pacific, who play with only this kind of ball. It forms a sense of connection for our students, but more importantly, it illustrates the concept of the “haves and have nots”: what other advantages do we enjoy, and what can we do to even the balance?