The Match for Peace is a sporting and interreligious event that brings together on the playing field the most important football players in activity and their most renowned legends.
The event is promoted by His Holiness Pope Francis and has as its main objective to transmit, in key moments, a message of peace and unity, so that through sport, with the support of its greatest stars and the Holy Father himself, can reach the whole world.
Players from all over the world, from different religious backgrounds and beliefs, are the driving force behind this event, which helps sustain the various programs of Scholas. Scholas is an international non-profit organization of Pontifical Right, created by Pope Francis in 2013 to transform education and promote social inclusion.
The event is organized by Roberto Sarti, who has been collaborating with foundations and NGOs for over 20 years, organizing major sports events for charitable causes. In April 2013, the Holy Father entrusted him with the organization of the first-ever Match for Peace, the first of its kind promoted by a Pope of the Catholic Church.
The three editions of the event took place in Rome on September 1, 2014, October 12, 2016, and November 14, 2022. More than 150 football stars participated, contributing to the global reach of the event, making it the most significant of its kind. It captured worldwide attention, with international media covering the event in 27 languages.
Some of the legendary players who have played or collaborated with the event have been: Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, Francesco Totti, Alessandro Del Piero, Andrea Pirlo, Ronaldinho, Fabio Capello, Gianluigi Buffon, Roberto Baggio, Gianluca Zambrotta, Fernando Torres, Samuel Eto’o, Andriy Shevchenko, Juan Sebastián Verón, Arsène Wenger, Javier Mascherano, Paolo Maldini, Ciro Immobile, Ivan Rakitić, Ciro Ferrara, Robert Pirès, Javier Zanetti, Carlos Valderrama, Maximiliano Rodríguez, and Mauro Icardi, among many others.
