Vatican City, 14 July 2016 – "Challenge yourself in the game of life, as you do in the game of sport”, based on the words of Pope Francis, will be the theme of the international conference "Sport at the service of humanity", to take place in Rome from 5 to 7 October 2016, organised by the Pontifical Council for Culture, whose president is Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi.

The purpose of the Sport at the Service of Humanity conference is to bring together world leaders in sport, faith, business and civil society to establish the principles for a new movement. To this end, the Conference will host 150 leaders to discuss how sport and faith working together can improve and enhance the lives of those who most need it in many different walks of life.

The insurance company Allianz is one of the founding partners, and in a press release its CEO Oliver Bäte expresses his conviction that this event will be the cornerstone of a global movement tat builds bridges between people and helps transform lives. Msgr. Melchor Sanchez de Toca, under-secretary of the Pontifical Council for Culture, affirms that this is the first time that such a high level meeting will take place in the Vatican on sports and faith. "It is not a one-off event.", he emphasises. "The idea is to create a movement that will resonate with everyone, regardless of faith, culture and geography”.