FIFA president Gianni Infantino has revealed that the world football governing body, will ask Nigeria and other countries in the world, to name a stadium after Pele following his death last week, aged 82.
Infantino will ask countries to honour one of the all-time greats with the gesture.
“We are going to ask that all countries in the world have at least one stadium with the name of Pele,” said while commenting at Pele’s funeral which began in Santos on Monday, January 2.
He said that the reason behind this idea would be ‘so that children know Pele’s importance’.
Pele is the only player to have won the World Cup three times, first at
the 1958 edition in Sweden, in Chile in 1962 and Mexico 1970.
During his more than 20 years as a professional footballer, Pele also amassed over 1,200 career goals.
An emotional Brazil began paying its respects to football legend Pele today, as his coffin arrived at the stadium where he first took the world’s breath away.
Hundreds of fans began filing into the Vila Belmiro, home to Pele’s longtime club Santos, where the open casket bearing the body of ‘The King’ was displayed at the centre circle this morning.
The casket, which was placed under an awning and surrounded by bouquets of white flowers, will remain there for 24 hours.
