MADRID, 4 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
FIFA will put the name of the Brazilian Edson Arantes do Nascimento ‘Pelé’ to the soccer field of its headquarters in Zurich (Switzerland) as a “tribute from the soccer community” to the legendary soccer player, who died last Thursday at the age of 82.
“The most important thing is to pay tribute to ‘O Rei’ Pelé, and although I have humbly proposed that in the 211 member federations there be at least one stadium or soccer venue named after him, we are going to set an example by designating the field of our headquarters.” Estádio Pelé-FIFA Zürich'”, said the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino.
The highest representative of world football’s governing body visited the burning chapel of ‘O Rei’ on Monday at the Urbano Caldeira de Santos stadium (Brazil). There he proposed that the 211 FIFA member federations give Pele’s name to at least one stadium or sports venue in their countries.
The former Brazilian soccer player was buried this Tuesday in the Ecumenical Necropolis Memorial, the highest vertical cemetery in the world, after a funeral procession through the port city of Santos and receiving the visit of more than 230,000 fans during his 24-hour wake at the stadium.
Pelé died of cancer on Thursday at the age of 82, and the Brazilian government decreed three days of national mourning. With 77 goals in 92 international matches, Pelé remains the Seleção’s top scorer along with Neymar.