Pope Francis funeral, all Italian sport pays tribute to the memory of the Holy Father
Accepting Coni’s invitation in the aftermath of Pope Francis’s passing, Italian sports federations and leagues have suspended, for the day of Saturday, April 26, all types of activities to pay tribute to the memory of the Holy Father, who passed away Monday 21 at the age of 88. Exceptions are Italian teams and athletes engaged in sports events abroad, whose commitments have been confirmed.
All Italian sports federations have expressed, in these five days of national mourning, their sorrow for the passing of Pope Francis, who in addition to having been since 2013 the main reference point of the Catholic Church was always close to sports, even as a fan (his passion for San Lorenzo, his favorite team, was known to all).
Numerous events have therefore been rescheduled due to the’need to interrupt activities on Italian soil on Saturday: as far as soccer is concerned, for example, the day of Serie A has been scrambled in terms of schedules, but also matches included in the context of international events, such as Italy-Wales of the Six Nations women’s rugby tournament, have been moved to Sunday.
On the other hand, as far as events abroad are concerned, there have been no particular shifts: in Madrid, in fact, the tennis tournament goes on with numerous Italians on the court, while in Jerez de la Frontera the Italian riders regularly face the MotoGp weekend. However, the memory of the Holy Father was honored, in these cases, with a moment of recollection.
