Sports
Pele: Brazil Legend Laid In State In Santos’ Stadium
Numerous thousands of mourners stood in line all night long to pay their respects to the Brazilian superstar Pele, who is buried at the stadium of his old team, Santos.
At the Urbano Caldeira stadium in Sao Paulo, Pele’s coffin was positioned in the middle of the field while people lined the streets to enter the stadium.
On December 29, the three-time World Cup champion passed away at the age of 82.
Moreover, on Tuesday at 12:00 GMT, a parade will be held through the streets of Santos to a private family funeral.
Interestingly, the memorial was attended by Fifa President Gianni Infantino, who iterated:
“We’re going to ask every country in the world to name one of their football stadiums with the name of Pele.”
Following Pele’s passing, the Brazilian government proclaimed three days of national mourning.
As the 24-hour vigil comes to an end, the newly elected president of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, will go to Santos, a city in the state of Sao Paulo, to pay his respects.
The greatest footballer in history, Pele, had been receiving treatment for colon cancer since 2021.
On Monday morning, thousands of supporters gathered on the streets as the hearse approached the stadium; some had waited overnight to see the casket.
Edinho, the son of Pele, and former Brazil midfielder Ze Roberto assisted in carrying the casket as Neymar, Vinicius Junior, and Real Madrid brought flower tributes.
Beatrice had waited in line for more than two hours after waking up at six in the morning to travel with her husband from the city of Sorocaba to Santos.
“I’m determined to pay my final respects to him,” she told BBC.
When asked what Pele meant to Brazilians outside of football, Beatrice replied that he had contributed to the unification of contemporary Brazil by shattering racial barriers in Brazilian culture and introducing black Brazilians to the wider world of football and society.
Conclusion
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