Pope Francis has been called the "people's" pope, a "maverick" pope and the "outsider" pope.
He could also be called the fútbol pope.
The soccer world has been paying tribute to the late pontiff from Argentina, who used his love of fútbol — the term for soccer in Spanish — as a way to connect with people around the world, especially with young people. Francis was also known to use football in analogies to convey messages of teamwork, inclusion, hard work and unity. He promoted the “Match for Peace,” where the sport’s top players take part in a friendly match to promote peace and unity.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said this week on Instagram that on the occasions where he spent time with the pope, “he always shared his enthusiasm for football and highlighted the important role our sport plays in society, particularly in the education and protection of children around the world.”
His hometown team devotion — and its ultimate tribute
Francis has said he's loved the game since he was a child, even though he's admitted he was “not among the best” and quipped that he had “two left feet.”
The pontiff was a card-carrying member of his hometown soccer club, San Lorenzo de Almagro, which was founded by a priest and is named after a saint. As fan No. 88235, the first Latin American pope kept paying dues to the club even after he was at the Vatican.
Francis was such a fan that in 2014, when San Lorenzo won the coveted Copa Libertadores title, the team's leadership went to the Vatican to share in the celebration and gave the pope a replica of their trophy. Later, they announced they wanted a future new stadium to be named after the pontiff.
This week, San Lorenzo President Marcelo Moretti confirmed on a radio show that plans for a new stadium with the pope's name are coming along, and he revealed that Francis got emotional when the team formally asked him years ago whether it could name its future new home after him.
"He said yes with emotion," Moretti told Blu Radio. "The truth is he was very happy about it. In fact, we took him a piece of the old San Lorenzo stadium and where the new one will be built ... he got very emotional. It was very exciting for us and for him, too; he told me in subsequent letters."
At a Mass held this week in his hometown, many were wearing the navy-and-red San Lorenzo jerseys.
During his papacy, Francis welcomed some of the best soccer players in the world: goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon from Italy, striker Zlatan Ibrahimović from Sweden and midfielder Ronaldinho from Brazil, among many others.
Ronaldhino posted on Instagram a photo of him and the pontiff, with the caption in his native Brazilian saying, “Rest in peace, Pope Francis.”
Lionel Messi, arguably the most famous soccer player today, shared a photo of his meeting with the pope in an Instagram story on Monday. The caption read: “a different, approachable, Argentine pope, thank you for making the world a better place, we will miss you.”
In his 2024 autobiography, Francis dedicated an entire chapter to Diego Maradona, the Argentine football legend known for his “Hand of God” goal in the 1986 World Cup. The two met in 2014. Maradona, who died in 2020, had said that Francis had restored his Catholic faith.
Francis’ love of the game even inspired a fictional, but well-liked scene in Netflix’s hit film “The Two Popes.” In the movie, Pope Benedict and then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio watch the 2014 World Cup final between their two countries, Germany and Argentina.
