He was hailed as the king of soccer, but it was Pelé’s other nickname — the Pérola Negra, or Black Pearl — that best evoked the rare brilliance he packed into his diminutive frame.
Pele, who for decades staked a claim as the world’s most celebrated athlete, died Thursday at a hospital in São Paulo, Brazil. He was 82.
The cause was complications from colon cancer, said his manager Joe Fraga. Pelé’s eminence in soccer spanned three decades during which he helped Brazil win World Cup titles in 1958, 1962, and 1970. Quick, agile, adept with both feet, and laserlike with his headers, Pelé was built for scoring and blessed with a jazz master’s improvisational skills on the soccer pitch.
“First time I’m hearing this, it’s news to me.” ” Why isn’t Pelé’s visit to Uganda talked about that much? “
Those are some of the comments from some of the Ugandan football enthusiasts of the young generations after viewing a video of Pele’s visit to Uganda in 1976 on social media.
Who doubts Pelé ever stepped foot in Uganda? In reality, February 5, 1976, is the day the former Brazilian football legend jetted in at Entebbe to embark on a three-day tour of Uganda to promote the development of youth football.
Pelé and Iddi Amin
Playing for the New York Cosmos at the time, Pele’s trip was sponsored by Pepsi, and thousands of Ugandans turned up to get a glimpse of the football idol. Interestingly, Pele’s visit to Uganda was not planned in advance; the legend, who had toured several African countries with Kenya being his last stop before flying back to the US, was convinced to visit Uganda at the eleventh hour.
“I was contacted by Kenya Football Fe
duration (KFF) boss Kenneth Matiba whether Uganda was ready to receive him [Pele], to which I said why not,” recalls Era Mugisa, who was Fufa and Cecafa’s boss at the time.
At Entebbe, Pele was received by NCS boss Ernest Oluo, NCS general secretary Martin Okoth and Mugisa. The following day, Fufa organized a football gala comprising school teams from King’s College Budo, Kololo SS, Lubaga Boys, and Old Kampala SS as well as a select team from the central region youth sides. However, before kickoff, Pele gave pep talks to all the youngsters and was later featured in group photos with each of the teams.
Pele, who made the first kick before the commencement of play, was greatly impressed by the skills exhibited by the youngsters and acknowledged every good pass with a clap.
“Uganda is on the right track in football development and you should stick to this kind of arrangement of encouraging players at a young age,” he said afterward.
One of the participating youngsters was Fred Musisi Kiyingi, who remembers the day with a tinge of pride. “It was a historical moment for me being part of the Kololo SS team,” says the Daily Monitor journalist.
On February 7, Fufa organized another match between topflight sides Coffee and Uganda Prisons (Maroons). Before the game, there was speculation that Pele would showcase his extraordinary skills at half-time.
This only served to heighten the interest in the match and by 2 pm, Nakivubo was full to capacity.
But what was supposed to be an interesting match turned out to be a boring game as all the 22 players on the pitch tried hard to impress the Brazilian, who seemed to be unimpressed by the level of football displayed.
To this day, it remains a mystery why Fufa opted for teams renowned for dull football tactics instead of giants like Express and KCC. The fans also expected a showdown between Uganda Cranes which was preparing for the 1976 Africa Cup of Nations and the Uganda Lions (Uganda second strings side) which had just returned from China where they played build-up games.
It didn’t help matters at halftime when Pele’s limousine left the stadium. Angry fans hurled jeers toward the pavilion where officials sat. Indeed, many fans rushed for the exits as a handful stayed to a dull goalless draw.
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