Don Luigi, the priest who organized a tournament with FIFA in New York From the Our Lady of Pompeii Church to his friendship with Infantino, we interviewed him a week ago

You certainly don't hear every day about a parish priest so passionate about football; nor, even less, about a priest who maintains such close friendships with names like Gianni Infantino, Marco Materazzi, Giuseppe Rossi and Youri Djorkaeff. His name is Don Luigi Portarulo, and we had the opportunity to interview him a few days ago, before the start of the 2026 World Cup, which will animate the United States, Mexico, and Canada. On the occasion of the event, he also organized, in collaboration with FIFA, a charity 7-a-side football match at Columbia University's Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium, which featured some of the greatest legends of Italian football.

Don Luigi Portarulo thus had the opportunity to combine two worlds in a single moment, starting with the celebration of Holy Mass at the historic Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan. Just before the match, he told us: "I want to bring back the idea of community and sport through oratories (youth centers)," he shared with us in the interview that follows.

I would like you to tell us a bit more about how this collaboration with FIFA came about and what your role was in organizing it.

Yes, look, it all came together in a week. Basically, what happened was that Italy didn't qualify for the World Cup and, as we know, many Italians in America were waiting for this moment to celebrate. Since I am in contact with FIFA and know some executives personally, I spoke with them and said, "We need to organize something for the Italians." They replied, "Why don't we play a match with the Legends?". Infantino also strongly wanted this event to happen.

For a long time, I had wanted to organize a match for the Italian community featuring some great former players. In just three days, a very long waiting list was created, a sign of how much the Italian community felt the need for this event. It will offer some relief to the people, especially thanks to the presence of the champions who won the World Cup. We are happy to have had this opportunity.

A few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to shoot an editorial with Marco Materazzi. I imagine he is one of the players you know personally.

Yes, yes, I know him very well. Yes, Marco. Yes, he's great, we're friends, truly a great character.

Do you think Infantino supported this initiative for the Italian community also because the National Team's absence from the World Cup carries a very heavy cultural weight?

Absolutely, yes. He really wanted Italy to be at the World Cup, but as we know, unfortunately, it didn't go that way. That's why he said it was only right to do something for the Italian community. Speaking with FIFA and the Legends, we saw there was this push, and he personally wanted the event to happen. We are truly happy that all the pieces fell into place.

I find that the whole process that led you to reinvigorate and reinvent the community's presence at Old Patrick's can be metaphorical for what Italian football will have to experience in the future. You helped many children take their first steps, engaged an audience, took initiatives, and created social gathering around this place. Do you think there are similarities between your work and what Italian football should do in the future to restart from one of the darkest periods of recent years in our country?

Absolutely. I think that where there is desire, will, and above all the opportunity to do something, you must always try to understand where and what the spaces are to work at your best. When I arrived, which wasn't that long ago, I saw immediately that there were many Italians and a lot of enthusiasm. Pope Francis came to mind, the idea of putting into practice who we are. So I started going to sports centers, Italian associations, pizzerias, meeting fellow citizens and inviting them to Casa Italia to activate the community. There was a great response from the people, who proved to be a true community, and everything started from there.

From a football perspective, it's the same: after three consecutive missed World Cup qualifications, Italy absolutely must restart from children and young people, from the ball itself. My dream, for example, is to create an oratorio, because in Italy we know well that the oratorio represented the cradle and the birthplace of so many great players, including many of those who will come here for the event. In America, however, this concept does not exist: there is only the idea of football understood as a job or as a structured activity. My dream is to bring the word "oratorio" into the American vocabulary, so that children start playing football freely again, rediscovering a desire and a passion that shapes the person as a whole, and not just the athlete.

What do you think is the secret for the Italian National Team in the future?

In this way, as Italians, we will have the chance again to produce players capable of making our National Team great in the future. I think the real secret is working on youth, instilling enthusiasm and passion into the kids, which is precisely what is lacking a bit in Italy right now. Today, as we know, many foreigners play in many teams, and young Italian guys can't find space, ending up drifting away from football. Even for this Sunday's event, I am trying to involve every child and teenager possible and imaginable, so they can become passionate by listening to the stories of these great champions who have won everything. A footballer's dream is born from the desire to play football: we must believe in dreams and give young people opportunities. In Italy, unfortunately, many young people are immediately "cut" or rejected because they aren't given the time to grow. If instead we believe in people, in children, and in youth, and if we nurture their talent, I am sure we can once again have many Italian talents capable of achieving their dreams.