A Marca report tells the world that The Vatican is hosting a charity football event showcasing some of the World's best and most popular football players ever, including the World's No1 himself, Lionel Messi.

The said event will be sponsored by Pope Francis himself, and the date is set to September 1.

The Vatican Information Service also announced that the match will take place at the Studio Olimpico in Rome.

It was retired Argentina player Javier Zanetti who suggested the event. He said before that it would be great if there was a "sporting event that brings people of different religions together." He said this to the Pope when they met last year, along with other Argentina team players.

Below is Lionel Messi's first encounter with the pope, and also his first Instagram post.

The caption was: Que mejor manera de comenzar mi cuenta de instagram que con este momento tan especial - Visita al Vaticano What a nice way to start my instagram account with this special momento - Visit to the Vatican"

The sports event will also include some Italian footballers namely Andrea Pirlo and Gianluigi Buffon, a Cameroonian footballer named Samuel Eto'o, and Yuto Nagamoto of Japan.

Some retired players like Frenchman Zinedine Zidane, Italian Roberto Baggio, and the said Argentine player Javier Zanetti will also make an appearance at the said charity match.

The tickets will be available on Friday. The proceeds will go to an educational organisation named "Scholas Occurentes," which is supported by Pope Francis, and Zanetti's "PUPI" foundation, whose aim is to help kids from disadvantaged situations.

Pope Francis is part of Argentine club San Lorenzo, and is a self- confessed football fan.

Pope Francis is known to be the pope of the new age, as he expressed his views on homosexuality, religion, and other controversial social issues.

With some reports from: marca.com