After a year of waiting, the Capital will be preparing to relive in the shadow of the Cupolone la 13esima edition of Clericus Cup, the World Cup of the Church, promoted by the Italian Sports Centre, with the patronage of the National Office for Leisure, Tourism and Sport of the CEI, the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life and the Pontifical Council for Culture of the Vatican. It is a different kind of football in which the supreme universal entity is not the VAR (video assistant referee), but God.
Will sedici the teams to participate in the football tournament which will start again with great news: seminarians and priests they will play in different groups. It will be a way to experience the qualifying competitions by respecting the different training courses to get to the ministries: pastoral care for the more expert "don", academics for students who have not yet received presbyterial ordination.
“The Clericus Cup for the CSI, more than the sporting value, intends to feed the missionary and pastoral one. We are interested in accompanying the Church – he explains Victor Bosio, president of the Italian Sports Center - to promote human development in the parish world, increasingly supporting youth ministry with one of the most suitable tools for the growth of young people: sport. As indicated to us by Pope Francis himself in the recent Synod on Youth".
For priests, it will be one Special lent between the Via Crucis on Friday and training ahead of the game weekend. The Clericus Cup, as per tradition, will debut on fields of the Knights of Columbus, at the Pio XI Sports Centre, a stone's throw from the Vatican (Via di Santa Maria Mediatrice, 24).
The 16 teams will be organized with a formula made up of 4 groups of 4 teams, with the top two in each group qualifying for the next rounds. During the Easter holidays they will take a short break to start again shortly after: the 18st May the quarterfinals, Saturday 25 the semifinals and Saturday June 1 the final.
There are 403 members registered for the Clericus Cup with a passport of ben 67 different nationalities. Of the 359 players lItaly has 34 squads. Mexico and Nigeria are then the countries with the most representatives, with 31 and 26 athletes. There are 21 Americans, followed by Spain, Brazil and Colombia. Five continents represented, with players from Korea, Angola, Armenia, Chile, Jordan, England, Venezuela and South Sudan.
I am alone four the teams that participated in the nine previous editions: North American Martyrs, Collegio Urbano, Mater Ecclesiae and Sedes Sapientiae. Back on the field Brazilian College, allied with the Portuguese College to create the Brazilian Luso Alliance. The formation of Franco-Belgian College instead, it will tie the two victorious nations (1st and 3rd place) in the two finals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Pontifical Roman Major Seminary: the Vatican team together with the Pope's altar boys of the Vatican Pre-Seminary.
The open match on Saturday 30 March will be between North American Martyrs and the Urban College, or the re-edition of the 2018 final. I US seminarians of the North American Martyrs are the reigning champions of the Clericus Cup. Due to their success, they have achieved the “triplet”, winning the title in 2012, 2013 and 2018. Three also the titles collected by the seminarians of the Redemptoris Mater (2007, 2009 and 2010) and del Urban college (2014, 2015, 2017). The Mater Ecclesiae won the title twice, in 2016 on penalties and in the 2008 edition, while the students of the Pontifical Gregorian University they won the title in 2011.
Here are the four groups of the 2019 edition:
- Group A: North American Martyrs, Consolata Missionaries, Mater Ecclesiae, Pontificio Collegio Urbano
- Group B: Collegio San Paolo, Altomonte, Pio Latinoamericano, Pontifical Gregorian University
- Group C: Sedes Sapientiae, Redemptoris Mater, Franco-Belgian, Roman-Vatican College
- Group D: Spanish College, Luso-Brazilian Alliance, Mexican College, San Guanella and Friends
The regulation of the Clericus Cup championship is very similar to the federal one with what "exemption" more: they can be made 5 substitutions, call the time out and there is the possibility for the referees of the Csi, to extract the blue card (temporary expulsion of 5 minutes) - a measure between yellow and red - which sanctions an impropriety on the pitch. Another special feature is that to the teams a tie is never allowedIn the event of a draw, penalties will be used. At the end of each race a special "third time” which includes a prayer that unites the teams in the name of the universal Christian faith.
Even this year Tv2000, the TV of the Italian Episcopal Conference, will broadcast the various tournaments. In March and May every Monday the Clericus Cup will be inside "Sport 2000", the sports magazine at 19 pm hosted by Giampiero Spirito. Media partner of the tournament will also be Vatican Radio Italy, which will host results, comments and stories of the protagonists within "Non Solo Sport", broadcast every Monday after the weekend of play at 12:15 and 17:05.
