:Vatican City national football team

File:Prince Albert of Monaco with Vatican football players.jpg greeting team in June 2013]]

File:Cortile.del.belvedere.1.jpg in 1565, 44 years after the first Calcio Fiorentino match was held in the Vatican.]]

File:2017 Vatican City Jersey.jpg]]

In the year 2000, Pope John Paul II established a Vatican sports department with the aim of "reinvigorating the tradition (of sport) within the Christian community".{{cite web|title=Vatican Cup lifts spirits in Rome|url=https://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/news/newsid=113173.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517121304/http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/news/newsid=113173.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 May 2014|publisher=FIFA|access-date=19 March 2012}} In 2006, Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone suggested that the Vatican could field a team of men from Catholic seminaries. About the prospect, the cardinal stated, "If we just take the Brazilian students from our Pontifical universities we could have a magnificent squad." The cardinal also noted that in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, there were 42 players in the final round who attended Salesian training centres worldwide. For example, Marcelino, Spanish hero of the 1964 European Nations' Cup, was a former seminarian. It was Bertone's proposal that the Vatican's players, even if accepted by UEFA, would be drawn from the population within the Catholic Church worldwide, not just citizens of Vatican City. He was unclear at the time whether the Vatican would grant these players Vatican citizenship to make this possible.{{cite web|last=Relano|first=Alfredo|title=Lo que el Vaticano quiere es Selección|date=20 December 2006 |url=http://opinion.as.com/opinion/2006/12/20/portada/1166644555_850215.html|publisher=opinion.as.com|access-date=15 May 2014|language=es}}

With the smallest population of any nation, approximately 900, it is difficult to form a squad. The Vatican City squad consists entirely of employees of the Vatican: police officers, postal workers, government officials and members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard, the Vatican's de facto army, charged with protecting the pope. Since most Vatican citizens are members of the Swiss Guard, they cannot be amassed in large numbers for a long time. Therefore, the national team has played only a few rare international matches, often drawing a fair amount of interested press. When Vatican City played its first match in 2002, only one player, Marcello Rosati, had a Vatican passport. In 2010, Vatican City was invited to participate in the Viva World Cup by the N.F.-Board and were expected to participate{{cite news|last=Colchester|first=Max|title=The World Cup For Everyone Else|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704875604575280640200054062|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=June 2010 |access-date=15 May 2014}} but were unable to do so because they could not assemble a 15-man roster.{{cite web|last=Parada|first=Gonzalo|title=La Selección de fútbol del Vaticano vuelve al verde césped|url=http://gamacero.blogspot.com/2010/10/la-seleccion-de-futbol-del-vaticano.html|publisher=gamacero.blogspot.com|access-date=15 May 2014|language=es}} In total, Vatican City have played only four full international matches against other nations, one draw and three defeats to Monaco in 2002, 2011, 2013, and 2014 respectively.

In addition to its full international matches, the team has played a friendly match, its first, against the San Marino reserve team in 1994.{{cite web|title=Vatican Football|date=8 November 2010 |url=http://thepathslesstravelled.wordpress.com/2010/11/08/vatican-football/|publisher=The Path Less Traveled|access-date=25 June 2014}} The final score of that match is believed to be a 0–0 draw but Steve Menary's book 'Outcasts: The Lands that FIFA Forgot' states that Vatican insiders told him that the match ended 1–1.{{cite web|title=Praying for a win – the Vatican City at World Cup 2014?|date=19 September 2010 |url=http://sbbu.wordpress.com/2010/09/19/praying-for-a-win-the-vatican-city-at-world-cup-2014/ |publisher=Six Balls Between Us | access-date=15 May 2014}} In 2010, the Vatican organized a team to play a friendly game against Palestine. However, the team was made up of Catholic priests and was not considered the Vatican City national team.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6195077.stm | publisher=BBC News | first=David | last=Willey | title=Vatican plays down soccer 'joke' | date=19 December 2006}} In 2006, the Vatican City played SV Vollmond, a team from Switzerland, at Stadio Petriana with Vatican City prevailing 5–1.{{cite web|last=Saffer|first=Paul|title=Pray as you play|url=http://www.uefa.com/news/newsid=492560.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130205094408/http://www.uefa.com/news/newsid=492560.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 February 2013|access-date=19 March 2012}}{{cite web|title=Fussball im Vatikan|url=http://www.1fcratzinger.com/10762.html|publisher=1. FC Ratzinger|access-date=15 May 2014|language=de|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517120333/http://www.1fcratzinger.com/10762.html|archive-date=17 May 2014|url-status=dead}} The team has also competed against a representative team from the Diocese of Limburg.{{cite web|last1=Pradelli|first1=Christian|title=Trap ct della nazionale vaticana Sfiderà la Guardia di Finanza il 23/10|url=http://www.sportmediaset.mediaset.it/calcio/calcio/articoli/43868/trap-ct-della-nazionale-vaticana.shtml|publisher=Sport Media Set|access-date=21 August 2016|language=it}} In September 2016 the team participated in a triangular tournament at the Manlio Scopigno Stadium in Rieti to raise funds for earthquake victims. Former Italian international Simone Perrotta also participated in the tournament.{{cite web|title=Terremoto Centro Italia - Venerdì a Rieti la Nazionale italiana sindaci partecipa a triangolare di solidarietà|url=http://www.anci.it/index.cfm?layout=dettaglio&IdSez=821213&IdDett=57296|publisher=anci.it|access-date=23 May 2017|language=it}}

In April 2019 it was announced that the team had signed its first-ever sponsor, Poderi di San Pietro, a family-owned winery in Milan. The agreement was reached after ensuring that the organization met the strict ethical criteria established by the team. Previously, the Association was approached by a sports betting organization offering a very large sponsorship but was rejected for not aligning with those ethical standards.{{cite web |last1=Gerevini |first1=Maria |title=Per la "nazionale" del Papa ora c'è uno sponsor (di)vino |date=4 May 2018 |url=https://www.corriere.it/buone-notizie/18_aprile_05/nazionale-calcio-papa-vaticano-sponsor-azienda-vini-doc-lodi-72b72728-38b9-11e8-88e7-5b815ecb2975.shtml?refresh_ce-cp |publisher=corriere.it |access-date=3 July 2019 |language=it}}

Vatican footballing history began on 7 January 1521 when the first match of Calcio Fiorentino was played in the Vatican in the Cortile del Belvedere, in the presence of Pope Benedict XV. The first Vatican league was created in 1973 and was first won by employees of L'Osservatore Romano, the newspaper of the Holy See.{{cite web|last=Mattei|first=Giampaolo|title=Lo scudetto vaticano? Ai Gendarmi E per gli Svizzeri|url=https://www.vatican.va/news_services/or/or_quo/interviste/2009/193q08b1.html|publisher=vatican.va|access-date=14 February 2014}}

The Vatican has typically expressed strong support for football. Pope John Paul II was reportedly a goalkeeper in his youth in Poland, and an ardent supporter of Cracovia Kraków.{{cite news| url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/01/10/pope.football/index.html | publisher=CNN | title=Pope: Football a moral guide to life | date=10 January 2008}} Late German pope Pope Benedict XVI was an ardent supporter of Bayern Munich since his youth growing up in Bavaria, Germany.{{cite news| url=http://www.news.com.au/features/pope-to-fly-in-on-shepherd-one/story-e6frflir-1111116868383 | publisher=news.com.au | title=Pope heading to World Youth Day aboard 'Shepherd One' | date=9 July 2008}} Benedict is quoted as saying, "The sport of football can be a vehicle of education for the values of honesty, solidarity and fraternity, especially for the younger generation." In October 2007, the Pope was presented with a #16 shirt (in reference to the sixteenth use of his papal name) by Serie B side Ancona after Benedict supported their initiative to become a "beacon of morality" by adopting an "innovative, ethical model of practising football".

In 2010, Benedict and the Vatican reaffirmed their belief that football should be a beacon of morality by lashing out at Serie A after matches for the upcoming season were scheduled at 12:30pm on Sundays to appease pay-per-view companies wishing to spread out Serie A matches over the weekend. The Vatican previously questioned the league's decision to play matches on Sundays at all, but "I consider this a truly harmful development," Monsignor Carlo Mazza told Tuttosport. "Putting people in front of the television screen at 12.30 CET, when they are having lunch with their families, to me seems like a 'pitch invasion' on life."{{cite web|title=Vatican slams Serie A Sunday lunchtime kick-offs|url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=811643&cc=5901|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023083707/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=811643&cc=5901|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 October 2012|publisher=ESPN|access-date=19 March 2012}} Additionally, on 18 December 2006, Tarcisio Bertone, Cardinal Secretary of State of the Holy See, stated, but only in jest, that he did not preclude the possibility that the Vatican, in the future, could put together a football team of great value, that could play on the same level as, Roma, Internazionale and Milan or Genoa.{{cite news| url=http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20944687-38200,00.html | title=Vatican team will have the hand of God | date=18 December 2006 | agency=Agence France-Presse |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070630175020/http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20944687-38200,00.html |archive-date=30 June 2007}}{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6195077.stm |title=Vatican plays down soccer 'joke' |date=19 December 2006|access-date=2011-09-03 |publisher=BBC News |author=David Willey}} The Argentinian pope, Pope Francis was an ardent fan of his hometown club San Lorenzo,{{cite news |url=http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2013/12/17/pope-francis-celebrates-birthday-with-visit-from-his-favourite-football-team/ |title=Pope Francis to celebrate birthday with visit from his favourite football team |date=17 December 2013|access-date=2014-11-17 |work= Catholic Herald}} and exhibited disappointment when Argentina lost the 2014 World Cup final against Germany.{{cite news |url=http://www.christianpost.com/news/former-pope-benedict-please-with-germanys-world-cup-victory-hopes-argentina-recovers-soon-123362/ |title=Former Pope Benedict Please With Germany's World Cup Victory, Hopes Argentina 'Recovers Soon'|date=16 July 2014|access-date=2014-11-17 |work= The Christian Post}}

Vatican City is one of only nine fully recognized sovereign states the national teams of which are not FIFA members. The others are the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Monaco, Nauru, Palau, Tuvalu, and the United Kingdom (though the UK's four "home nations"—England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland—have individual FIFA teams each of which is also a member of the IFAB).

In 2006, UEFA spokesperson William Gaillard told a media outlet that he saw no reason why Vatican City should not have a national team in international competitions. He said, "We already have states of 30,000 citizens like San Marino, Liechtenstein, and Andorra. If the Vatican wants to become a member of UEFA all it has to do is apply. If it meets the requirements, it will be accepted". At that time Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone insisted that the Vatican's football future lies only in amateur games and competitions.{{cite web |title=Vatican squashes soccer team idea |url=https://www.italymagazine.com/italy/vatican-squashes-soccer-team-idea |publisher=Italy Magazine |access-date=3 July 2019}}

In May 2014, Domenico Ruggerio, president of the national football association, reinforced Bertone's words from eight years prior, stating that "I prefer to be amateur...To join FIFA, at that level, will be like a business" after stating "The important message of friendship and love is demonstrated by the sport — the real sport, not the business that is in football these days...It is not just important to win a match; it is how you carry yourself." Therefore, that, he added, meant that "the ethos of the Vatican’s soccer team was at odds with FIFA membership."

In an April 2019 interview Danilo Zennaro, football director of Vatican City, told the St. Galler Tagblatt that the association would also not seek membership in an alternate confederation like ConIFA because of "political reasons" such as the diplomatic strife that would ensue from being in the same organization as breakaway regions and disputed territories.{{cite web |last1=Lemmenmeier |first1=Adrian |title=Abseits der Fifa: Der Fussball-Verband nicht anerkannter Staaten wächst – auch ein Team aus Graubünden ist dabei |date=2 April 2019 |url=https://www.tagblatt.ch/sport/abseits-der-fifa-der-fussball-verband-nicht-anerkannter-staaten-waechst-auch-ein-schweizer-team-ist-dabei-ld.1105530 |publisher=St. Gallen Tagblatt |access-date=5 July 2019 |language=de}}

In May 2022, the association celebrated the conclusion of its fiftieth anniversary. Despite a history of contrary comments, among the topics discussed was the possibility of the association joining UEFA. It was revealed that Pope Francis spoke with UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin about the possibility when the latter visited the Pope ahead of the UEFA Euro 2020 final.{{cite web |title=Sport: presentata la maglietta per i 50 anni dell'Associazione ASD Sport in Vaticano. Card. Gambetti (vicario), "creare fraternità per vincere la partita della vita" |date=17 May 2022 |url=https://www.agensir.it/quotidiano/2022/5/17/sport-presentata-la-maglietta-per-i-50-anni-dellassociazione-asd-sport-in-vaticano-card-gambetti-vicario-creare-fraternita-per-vincere-la-partita-della-vita/ |publisher= AgenSir |access-date=28 January 2023 |language=Italian}}

In the past, the kit has been provided by Diadora. The shorts were all white while the top is solid yellow with a narrow blue and white line around the right upper quadrant of the body.{{cite web|title=First half goals secure Monaco win against Vatican City|date=23 June 2013 |url=http://nonfifafootball.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/first-half-goals-secure-monaco-win.html|publisher=Non-FIFA Football|access-date=23 June 2013}} The team's kit was then provided by Sportika SA until July 2021. The kit had an image of Saint Peter's Basilica ghosted on the front.{{cite web|title=2017 Kit|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BTjtmcRjmw8/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/instagram/doingthe116/1505247254264310844 |archive-date=2021-12-23 |url-access=subscription|publisher=Doing the 116|access-date=22 May 2017}}{{cbignore}}

In July 2021 the association introduced a new kit by Joma. For the first time, the kits became readily available to the public as they were sold in the gift shop of the Vatican Museums with the profits benefitting Pope Francis's works of charity.{{cite web |title=THE OFFICIAL TEAM SHIRT IS FOR SALE AT THE VATICAN MUSEUMS |url=https://www.sportinvaticano.com/shop |publisher=Sport in Vaticano |access-date=20 August 2021}} The kit included a badge on the arm commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the Vatican football association.

Up to matches played on 12 October 2024.

{{#invoke:sports table|main|style=WDL

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|team1=VAT|name_VAT={{fb|VAT}}

|win_VAT=8|draw_VAT=10|loss_VAT=13|gf_VAT=71|ga_VAT=94

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• Source(s): [http://www.sportinvaticano.com/storia-rappresentativa-dipendenti-vaticano/ Sport in Vaticano], [http://www.sportinvaticano.com/impegni-della-rappresentativa-vaticana/ Sport in Vaticano], [https://www.rsssf.org/tablesv/vaticaan-intres.html RSSSF], [https://www.eloratings.net/Vatican ELO]

The team has been managed by Giovanni Trapattoni in the past.{{Cite web|url=https://www.goal.com/en-us/news/lose-well-rather-than-win-badly---how-vatican-city-are-taking-on-the-world-and-losing/1u4d1m5lgfts14s8ykzbjl6j2|title='Lose well rather than win badly' - How Vatican City are taking on the world and losing|publisher=goal.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/news/football-in-vatican-3072644|title=Football thrives in Vatican City|publisher=fifa.com}}{{cite web|title=The things they say: Giovanni Trapattoni|url=https://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/news/newsid=1442357.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531042958/http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/news/newsid=1442357.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=31 May 2011|publisher=FIFA|access-date=19 March 2012}} His first match as manager was played on 23 October 2010 when Vatican City faced a team composed of Italian financial police.{{cite web|title=Trapattoni betreut Vatikan-Auswahl|url=http://www.fussball24.de/fussball/4/57/58/98902-trapattoni-betreut-vatikan-auswahl|publisher=fussball24.de|access-date=16 May 2014|language=de}}

file:FIFA WC-qualification 2014 - Austria vs Ireland 2013-09-10 - Giovanni Trapattoni 03 (cropped).JPG coached the team in 2010.]]

• {{flagicon|VAT}} Saverio Di Pofi
• {{flagicon|ITA}} Giovanni Trapattoni
• {{flagicon|VAT}} Gianfranco Guadagnoli
• {{flagicon|VAT}} Massimiliano Strappetti
• {{flagicon|ITA}} Omar Courtz

Sources:{{cite web|title=Vatican City|date=25 July 2020 |url=https://bestoffootballshirts.wordpress.com/2020/07/26/vatican-city/|access-date=26 July 2020}}{{cite web | url=https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1638018846363729&set=a.1602482269917387 | title= 1990s| website= Facebook}}

• Sport in Vatican City
• Campionato della Città del Vaticano
• List of football clubs in Vatican City
• Index of Vatican City-related articles

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.rsssf.org/tablesv/vaticaan-intres.html Vatican City men's national football team international games at RSSSF] {{in lang|en}}
• [http://www.sportinvaticano.com/ Official website]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20210228130212/https://businesstimesnow.com/category/sports/] {{in lang|la|it}}
• [http://www.csi-net.it/ CSI – Centro Sportivo Italiano] {{in lang|it}}
• [http://www.clericuscup.it/ Clericus Cup] {{in lang|it}}

{{Football in Vatican City}}

{{National sports teams of Vatican City}}

{{Vatican City topics}}

{{International football}}

{{Non-FIFA teams}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vatican City National Football Team}}

Category:European national and official selection-teams not affiliated to FIFA