FIFA chief Infantino wants 'every country in the world' to name a stadium after Pele
FIFA chief Gianni Infantino will ask 'every country in the world' to name a stadium after recently departed Brazil legend Pele
FIFA president Gianni Infantino says the organisation will ask 'every country in the world' to name a football stadium after Brazil legend Pele.
Pele passed away on December 29 at the age of 82 and tributes have poured in for the three-time World Cuo winner ever since.
Infantino travelled to Brazil for Pele's funeral and spoke to reporters in Sao Paulo.
“We’re going to ask every country in the world to name one of their football stadiums with the name of Pele,” he said on Monday.
On the day of Pele's death, Infantino released a statement which read: “For everyone who loves the beautiful game, this is the day we never wanted to come. The day we lost Pele.”
And he 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."
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Rio de Janeiro scrapped plans to name the iconic Maracana Stadium after Pele last year after the proposal was vetoed by the state governor.
Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.