Pele’s 24-hour wake began on Monday in the Brazilian coastal city of Santos, which Pele transformed into a symbol of football brilliance during his glittering club career.
At the Santos Football Club’s Vila Belmiro stadium, mourners waited in line to view Pele’s open casket in the middle of the field. Pele lost his battle with colon cancer on Thursday at the age of 82.
“Pele leaves a large number of Santos fans across our country. Antonio da Paz, a supporter observing the memorial service, which began at 10 a.m. outside the stadium, stated, “He was the creator of Brazilian football.”
One of the first people to arrive for the service was FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who said he would ask every nation to name a stadium after Pele, the only player to win the World Cup three times.
Infantino stated to reporters, “Pele is eternal.” FIFA will undoubtedly give the “king” the respect he deserves. We will also ask 211 nations to name a stadium in Pele’s honor, and we have asked all football associations in the world to observe a minute of silence before each game. The person Pele was must be remembered by future generations.
Pele, whose given name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, was born in the small town of Tres Coracoes in 1940. He moved to Santos in 1956 and spent the majority of his life there.
His body was transported from the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo to the city of about 430,000 people under the light of fireworks in the early hours of Monday.
TV footage showed that former Brazil midfielder Ze Roberto and Pele’s son Edinho assisted in placing his body on the field. Neymar, Vinicius Junior, and Real Madrid, among others, sent floral wreaths.
Pele’s coffin will be carried in a procession through Santos’s streets on Tuesday and buried in a private ceremony at the Ecumenical Memorial Necropolis cemetery.
According to the press office of Santos, approximately 5,000 journalists from all over the world had been given permission to cover Pele’s passing, who scored more than 1,000 goals for Santos.
The memorial is expected to be attended by a number of government officials, including Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, a longtime Santos supporter, and newly elected Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
In a statement, the military police of the state of Sao Paulo said they had prepared a special operation they called the “King Pele Operation” to maintain public order.
Roberto Santos, a fan, stated, “I’ll be here all day, 24 hours, from 10am to 10am.” It’s deserved by Pele.
