The head of the Roman Catholic Church receives the Italian champion and praises Naples.
Pope Leo XIV praised the players and managers of the new Italian champion SSC Napoli as a collective during an audience at the Vatican. “The championship is won by the entire team,” said the Pope, explicitly emphasizing that the victory of the fourth Scudetto in the club’s history is not only thanks to the players, but also to the coaching staff and the entire club.
The Pope explained that he deliberately received the team immediately after the championship triumph in order to particularly emphasize the aspect of cooperation – not only in sports, but also socially. “This success is a great celebration for the city of Naples,” said Leo XIV.
The Napoli fans celebrate the new Italian champion
Pope Leo XIV Sees Danger in Football
Because of the enormous popularity of football in Italy, an event like the championship has a social significance that goes beyond sports. “If sport becomes a business, it loses its educational values – and can even have the opposite effects,” warned the first US-American Pope in the history of the Roman Catholic Church.
He also joked about an alleged preference for the capital club AS Rom, which the press had attributed to him. “Not everything that the media writes is true,” he said to the players and club president Aurelio De Laurentiis.