Soccer can teach young people important lessons for life, Pope Benedict XVI said on Wednesday.
Despite corruption scandals and hooligan violence, Benedict voiced the hope that what many see as The Beautiful Game ''may increasingly be the vehicle of the values of honesty, solidarity and fraternity''.
The pope, who recently gave his blessing to Italian third-division club Ancona's drive to play according to Christian values, was speaking to a delegation of clubs from the lowest professional tier, Serie D.
The unglamorous lower league has taken on the job of grooming domestic talent as higher divisions dropped youth schemes in favour of the faster option of big foreign buys.
Serie D spokesman William Punghellini stressed how the league would continue to work with youth teams to foster the values lauded by the pope.
The 162 clubs gave Benedict the money they had saved by a decision not to buy Christmas presents. The cash will go towards Bangladeshi flood victims.
Punghellini presented the pontiff with a blue soccer jersey with his name on the back.
Unlike his predecessor John Paul II, who played for a youth side in Krakow, Benedict has no recorded history on the field of play.
But he is reportedly an avid TV follower of German giant Bayern Munich, the pride of his native Bavaria.
