The American pontiff hailed Napoli as an “example of a team, in the broad sense, that works together, with individual talents put at the service of the whole.”
He then commented on the educational role of sport.
“Unfortunately, when sport becomes a business, it risks losing the values that make it educational, and it can even become harmful from that point of view,” he said.
Leo said this was particularly important with teenagers and called on parents and coaches to “pay close attention to the moral quality of the sporting experience”.
“What’s at stake is the human development of young people,” he said.
The pope joked that it seemed the Napoli players hadn’t wanted to applaud him because of press reports that he is a Roma fan.
“What you read in the press isn’t always true,” he said.
He also passed on the congratulations of one of his cooks, a Neapolitan woman called Rosa, who is a big Napoli fan.
Napoli Chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis gave the pope a team shirt signed by the players with the number 10 and “Papa Leone XIV” written on the back.
ANSA
