FIFA President Gianni Infantino has announced a charity football match in aid of children will be played to honour Pope Francis’ wishes after attending the late pontiff’s funeral.

Mr Infantino joined world leaders among an estimated crowd of 400,000 in the Vatican City as Pope Francis was laid to rest. He said the memory of the late head of the Catholic Church – a well-known football fan – would be honoured with a charity game following a discussion the pair shared during the World Leaders Summit on Children’s Rights at The Holy See in January 2025.

“It was my honour to attend the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican,” said the FIFA President. “He was an incredible leader and a fan of our beautiful sport. In our last meeting we had discussed organising a game for children with some great champions and FIFA Legends and I can confirm we will organise it in September. Pope Francis was of the belief that football can truly unite the world and we will honour his legacy by continuing to work towards that.

“My sincere condolences again to everyone who knew him, and I wish that his message of hope and peace forever resonates around the world. Rest in peace.”

Mr Infantino, who also met Pope Francis during a visit to the Vatican in May 2016, added: “I was privileged enough to spend some time with him on a couple of occasions, and he always shared his enthusiasm for football and stressed the important role our sport plays in society, in particular in relation to educating and safeguarding children all around the world. ‘Football is the most beautiful sport in the world.’ These were his words. He reiterated his hope for football as a unifying force globally and to be a positive force for good.”

Pope Francis, who passed away on 21 April, had a great love for the game and all sports and often spoke of their importance in society and in bringing people together.

During a visit to Mozambique, in a meeting with students from the Scholas Occurrents worldwide movement for young people, he recalled how he used to play in football games with an improvised ball.

“When I was a child, I played with a ball made of cloth strips because at that time soccer balls were made of leather and were very expensive,” he said, adding that such balls were regarded as a cultural symbol at the time.

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina on 17 December 1936, Pope Francis was a lifelong fan of CA San Lorenzo de Almagro. “He was always one of us,” said the club, recalling that his father, Mario José Bergoglio, played for its basketball team. “An honorary member of our club, his passion for San Lorenzo always moved us especially, and it unites us in constant prayer for his soul." It added that the late pontiff had been at the Nuevo Gasómetro stadium to watch them win their sixth Argentinian Primera División title in 1946.

One year after Pope Francis was elected in 2013, San Lorenzo won the CONMEBOL Libertadores for the first time.

He often talked about how sport could unite people. "Sport (…) is a way to spend leisure time that arouses interests and opportunities for meeting, brings people together, creates communities, energises life in an orderly manner, and promotes dreams, especially in younger generations," he said in a message to the International Conference on Sports and Spirituality held in Rome in May 2024.

In a meeting with the Scottish team Celtic FC in Rome, the late pontiff reminded players that football was more than simply winning matches on the pitch, saying that true victory is “playing the game together, all the way through, playing as a team.” This, he said, “is the most beautiful thing about sport”.

The Vatican City itself boasts a thriving football scene and is home to no fewer than eight amateur clubs. It runs three annual club competitions as well as the Clericus Cup, its own mini World Cup, which takes place every year for priests and seminarians.

Following the Pope’s passing, top-flight matches were postponed in both Italy and Argentina. Lionel Messi, captain of Argentina’s FIFA World Cup-winning team in 2022, was among the many from the football world to pay tribute. "Thank you for making the world a better place. We will miss you," he said.