Pope Francis’s love of football showed his passion for peace and education

Pope Francis embraced football not only as a fan but as a vehicle for global unity and youth formation.

Pope Francis attends a children’s football match during the World Children’s Day event at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, on May 25, 2024. Photo by Filippo Monteforte/AFP

By Anna Fadiah and Hayu Andini

Pope Francis’s love of football was not merely a hobby or nostalgic pastime—it was an essential part of his life story and worldview. From his early days kicking a rag ball through the dusty streets of Buenos Aires to receiving global football stars at the Vatican, Pope Francis’s love of football served as a bridge between faith, education, and unity.

While his predecessor Benedict XVI preferred classical music and theology, Francis found joy and meaning in what he called “the most beautiful game.” To him, football was more than a sport—it was a metaphor for life, a tool for growth, and a vehicle for peace.

Childhood memories shaped by the beautiful game

Jorge Bergoglio, long before he became the head of the Catholic Church, was a boy in Buenos Aires who loved to play goalkeeper. He once joked that he had “two left feet” and never stood out on the pitch, but that didn’t dim his enthusiasm. He recalled playing barefoot with his friends, using makeshift balls fashioned from rags, in the spirit of street football that shaped generations of Argentinians.

He admitted that being a goalkeeper taught him an important lesson—how to anticipate dangers and respond to threats from every direction. The humility and vigilance required in that role would later parallel his mission as a leader of nearly 1.4 billion Catholics around the world.

Throughout his life, Francis remained loyal to his childhood club, San Lorenzo de Almagro. He attended matches with his father and brothers, and even after being elected pope in 2013, he kept his membership card active. In a move that raised a few eyebrows, Boca Juniors—San Lorenzo’s rival—presented him with a membership card as part of a Vatican partnership, showcasing how even football rivalries could serve a higher purpose under his leadership.

Welcoming football’s greats at the Vatican

As pope, Francis welcomed some of the biggest legends in world football, including Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona, Gianluigi Buffon, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. His audience halls became a place where the sacred met the popular. He often signed footballs and jerseys sent from every corner of the globe.

He never forgot the power of football to transcend social boundaries. “Many say football is the most beautiful game in the world,” he declared in 2019. “I think so too.”

In 2014, he spearheaded the idea of an “inter-religious match for peace” at Rome’s Olympic Stadium, an event that brought players of different faiths together to promote unity and mutual respect. This was not simply symbolic—it was central to Pope Francis’s love of football and his belief in its ability to heal divisions.

Football as education and spiritual discipline

Football, in Francis’s view, was not just entertainment. It was also a form of moral and social instruction. He frequently addressed players and teams—such as the Italian and Argentine national squads—urging them to recognize their social responsibility. He warned against the dangers of excessive commercialization, reminding players that the collective must always come before the individual.

French Bishop Emmanuel Gobilliard, the Vatican’s delegate for the 2024 Paris Olympics, echoed this sentiment. “Football is part of people’s lives, whether they play or watch it. It can elevate people when used with the right values,” he said.

Gobilliard compared football to religion in the sense that both call for sacrifice, service, and the pursuit of something greater than oneself. In Francis’s eyes, sport could uplift the human spirit and connect individuals to a wider community and moral purpose.

A spiritual narrative intertwined with football

Francis’s devotion to football was so well-known that it even featured in pop culture. In the 2019 Netflix film The Two Popes, a fictional scene shows him watching the 2014 World Cup final between Argentina and Germany with Pope Benedict. While Francis had actually stopped watching television in 1990, the scene captured something real: his deep emotional connection to the game.

Though he often avoided discussing politically sensitive topics, Francis dedicated a chapter in his 2024 autobiography to Diego Maradona. He fondly remembered joking with the football legend during a Vatican meeting, asking, “So, which is the guilty hand?”—a nod to Maradona’s infamous “Hand of God” goal.

Yet the pope was clear-eyed about Maradona’s personal struggles. “As a player, he was great. But as a man, he failed,” Francis reflected, referring to Maradona’s battles with addiction.

In contrast, he called Lionel Messi a “gentleman,” and when asked to choose the greatest player of all time, he avoided controversy by offering a different name altogether—Brazilian icon Pelé, whom he praised as “a man of heart.”

The pope who played with humility

Despite his fame, Francis never lost sight of the humility and joy that first drew him to football. He wore his San Lorenzo scarf with pride but avoided public displays of favoritism. Before the 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and France, he called on fans to celebrate with humility, regardless of the result.

Even as his health declined in recent years, he remained active and continued to speak about football’s value. His commitment to peace and youth formation through sport stood out in a world increasingly dominated by profit-driven leagues and sensationalism.

Francis saw football as a common ground where faith and fellowship could flourish. He once said that football’s essence is “to go beyond individual interest” and serve a higher goal—values that mirror the teachings of the Gospel.

A legacy where sport and spirit meet

Pope Francis’s love of football was never a gimmick or side note. It was a central part of who he was—a reflection of his Argentinian identity, his pastoral instincts, and his belief in the transforming power of human connection.

As the Catholic Church reflects on his broader legacy—his reforms, his compassion, his outreach—it is clear that his passion for football was not just about the game, but about the people who played it, watched it, and lived it.

In a time when global institutions, both religious and athletic, struggle with relevance and trust, Francis offered a vision in which football could unite rather than divide, inspire rather than distract, and serve as a model for the kind of inclusive world he tried to build.

Pope Francis’s love of football lives on in the countless lives he touched—on and off the pitch.