Gianni Infantino wants every country to name a stadium in honour of Pele

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Fifa will ask every country in the world to name a stadium in honour of Pele, its president Gianni Infantino said on Monday.

The Brazil great, who won the World Cup three times and scored over 1,000 goals in his career, died on December 29 aged 82 after a battle with cancer.

Infantino, who was in Brazil for Pele’s funeral in Sao Paulo, told local reporters: “We’re going to ask every country in the world to name one of their football stadiums with the name of Pele.”

In April 2021 Rio de Janeiro abandoned plans to name the famous Maracana Stadium after Pele after it was vetoed by the state governor.

Pele’s coffin was placed inside the Vila Belmiro stadium in Santos on Monday, the home ground of the club where he spent virtually his entire career.

Infantino released a statement on the day of Pele’s death which began: “For everyone who loves the beautiful game, this is the day we never wanted to come. The day we lost Pele.”

He described Pele as an “exemplary sportsman” and added: “Pele had a magnetic presence and, when you were with him, the rest of the world stopped.

“His life is about more than football. He changed perceptions for the better in Brazil, in South America and across the world. His legacy is impossible to summarise in words.”