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Pope meets 'Team Pope' ahead of charity match

November 20, 2021

A team of migrants, priests and disabled people has met with Pope Francis in the Vatican. The team is set to play in a charity soccer match, refereed by Lazio star Ciro Immobile, to help the Roma community.

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The pope holding a football while shaking hands with a member of the audience
The charity football match aims to raise funds for an initiative against discriminationImage: Vatican Media/IPA/picture alliance

Pope Francis hosted the players of his eponymous soccer team in Vatican City on Saturday ahead of a charity match that aims to combat discrimination against vulnerable groups, including the Roma community.

The pope, who is a major fan of the sport, was meeting with the priests, migrants and Swiss guards who will play for Team Pope — Fratelli Tutti (All Brothers) against a team from the Croatia-based World Roma Organization on Sunday.

The aim of the game is to raise money for a charity based in the diocese of Rome to promote the inclusion of Roma people and other marginalized groups.

"It's a team where there aren't any barriers and which makes inclusion the simple normality,'' Pope Francis told the players and others in the audience.

The pope receiving a football shirt with the name Papa Franjo (Croatian for Francis) on the back
The 84-year-old pope, originally from Argentina, is a big fan of soccerImage: Vatican Media/IPA/picture alliance

Star Immobile to take part

Soccer star Ciro Immobile from the Italian club Lazio, and a player on Italy's European Championship-winning team in the summer, will referee the match.

Three of the Fratelli Tutti players are migrants now living in Italy. The pope said that they had arrived in Italy after a long "path marked by abuse and violence," including time on the Greek island of Lesbos — a major entry point for refugees and migrants into Europe.

"It doesn't matter who will score the most goals, because the decisive goal you'll score together, the goal that makes hope win and gives a kick to exclusion," Francis said.

Pope Francis standing for a photo with the members of the Fratelli Tutti team
The Fratelli Tutti team includes migrants, priests and one player with Down SyndromeImage: Vatican Media/IPA/picture alliance

Confronting anti-Roma discrimination

The pope commended already-existing initiatives in Croatia that focus on boosting the inclusion of Roma people in the country.

He also referenced a recent trip to Slovakia during which he visited a Roma community. He described to the audience the challenges faced by such groups.

"Dear Roma friends, I know well your history, your reality, your fears and your hopes,'' Francis said, adding that "all too often you have been the object of prejudice and harsh judgments."

But he was hopeful, saying Sunday's soccer match "indicates that the way toward peaceful coexistence is integration.''

ab/dj (AP, AFP)