Out of sight, out of mind goes a famous adage. Brazilian World Cup-winning Legend Pele passed on last week on Thursday at the age of 82.FIFA Boss Gianni Infantino revealed FIFA will ask every country to name a stadium after Pele.
Pele whose casket bears “ The King “ is considered to be the greatest Footballer of all time. His demise at the age of 82 came about after a series of battles with Cancer.
The death of the Brazilian Legend sparked a mammoth of tributes from Football lovers all over the globe. In fact, even non Football lovers also joined in to pay tribute to the legend.
It is upon this basis that FIFA Boss Gianni Infantino seeks to have Pele’s legacy cemented all over the world.
Pele is the only Football player to have enjoyed and won the World Cup on 3 separate occasions with Brazil. This was in 1958, 1962, and 1970.
Pele is the only Football player to have enjoyed and won the World Cup on 3 separate occasions with Brazil. This was in 1958, 1962, and 1970.
It is not a new thing to name a stadium after an individual. A footballer in this case. A number of top stadiums across the world have been named after great footballers.
The Puskas Arena, a magnificent stadium in Hungary is named after Ference Puskas. He not only has a Stadium named after him but also the FIFA Puskas Award which was established in 2009. He played for Hungary and Real Madrid in the 1950s.
Real Madrid’s home stadium is actually named after their former player, manager, and president of the club – Santiago Bernabeu. Bernabeu even went ahead to help set up a tournament in 1955 which would later develop into the Champions League.
Santiago Bernabeu Stadium
Argentine Legend Diego Maradona also has a stadium named after him in Argentina. The World Cup and Balloon d’Or winner played for Barcelona, Napoli, and Boca juniors in his illustrious 20 years career.
However, all these players have had stadiums named/built-in their nes in their own countries. infantino’s idea to have every country name a stadium after Pele is yet to be seen how it will be achieved.
