The Pope will launch the John Paul II Foundation for Sport at St Mary's University College, Twickenham, on Friday (September 17) during a school assembly broadcast live to 800,000 pupils across Britain.

The Catholic Church said 32 children from school years nine to 11 have been selected from schools across the UK to make a sporting pledge before the Pope at the launch of the foundation.

The pupils - who have been chosen for their success in sport - will vow to engage in sport and "play with the right spirit, enjoy myself, give of my best, respect others, myself and the rules".

Former England and Manchester United player Brian Kidd, assistant manager of Manchester City Football Club, will light an inauguration candle at the foundation launch as a symbol of God's light present in the world of sport, the Church said.

The foundation aims to train future youth and adult leaders of sport and encourage sporting excellence.

Pope John Paul II (pictured), who died in 2005, was a keen football player in his youth, and was known to jog in the Vatican gardens, hike regularly in the mountains and was a keen swimmer.

St Mary's University College has been designated as a pre-Games training camp for the London 2012 Olympics and has been chosen by the South African Olympic team as their base for 2012 preparations.

Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols, an avid Liverpool fan and the leader of Catholics in England and Wales, said: "With the Olympic Games less than two years away, we have a moment of opportunity and a whole process in which the aspirations of young people, the meanings of habit and routine in their lives, and the whole notion of achieving excellence can begin to be lifted up again.

"Within the 2012 Games there are seeds for all sorts of good ideas and good initiatives

"The John Paul II Foundation for Sport is a venture that I am particularly interested in as it uses sport to try and introduce to young and old alike the importance of health, the dignity of our bodies, the care of physical well-being and its spiritual meaning."

Professor Simon Lee, chair of the board for the John Paul II Foundation for Sport, said: "The Church is inviting all-comers to join in creating a joyful legacy for 2012 and beyond, in the spirit of John Paul II’s love of sport.

"It is not only because of his personal interest that the Church sees value in sport properly understood and practiced.

"We are grateful to Pope Benedict XVI for generously launching this Foundation in honor of his predecessor and as a gift to wider society

"As Pope Pius XII put it in 1945, 'How can the Church not be interested in sport?''

"All who love sport are invited to join this new Foundation in promoting practical opportunities to share in its very best values."