Klaus Schuster takes a stand. © Niccolo Dametto

Chaos in the amateur leagues: Will games be played or not?

Following the death of Pope Francis, total chaos reigns in Italian football. Many questions remain unanswered even in the domestic amateur leagues, as the president of the national association, Klaus Schuster, explained in response to a query from SportNews.

22 April 2025

From: leo

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Sport and the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) announced that no football matches will take place on Saturday. The reason: Pope Francis will be buried in Rome. According to the circular, all national associations are requested to suspend the events. This means, among other things, that the FC Südtirol's home game against Juve Stabia postponed And what's happening in the domestic amateur leagues and at youth level?

“I would like to know that too,” says Klaus Schuster on SportNews-Demand. "In the morning, it was said that there would only be a minute's silence. Now, suddenly, there's talk of canceling all matches, even though we haven't received any official notification yet." If there really aren't any games on Saturday, "we'd be in trouble," Schuster emphasizes.

What are the next steps?

Time is particularly pressing in the youth categories, as the national playoffs were scheduled to begin on May 4. "But perhaps that will be postponed now," Schuster wonders.

Three matches are scheduled for Saturday in the regional league, and a comprehensive schedule is also planned in all three amateur leagues and the youth division. The fact is: chaos reigns in Italian football following the death of the Pope.