Churchmen and trainee priests from around the world who are at the Vatican or studying at the various pontifical universities in Rome will kick off the first match in a special Clericus Cup tournament on Saturday 24 Feb. The final match is scheduled for June.

The tournament is promoted by Centro Sportivo Italiano (CSI), a Christian organisation which promotes education through sport.

The 16 teams participating will comprise some 300 clergymen and will follow the same rules as regular football tournaments with a few exceptions: the games will only last 60 minutes (rather than the normal 90 minutes), a blue card will be used to allow priests who get a bit too