Fifa president made the suggestion while speaking to reporters at Pele's wake in Santos, Brazil.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino (C) greets the wife of Brazilian football legend Pele, Marcia Aoki (R), during his wake at the Urbano Caldeira stadium in Santos
Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president, has bizarrely called on every nation in the world to name a football stadium after Pele in tribute to the Brazilian legend.
“We are here to pay homage to him, and we are talking with all the federations to observe a moment of silence for Pele,” said Infantino, on a visit to Santos to attend the three-time World Cup winner’s memorial at his former club. “But we are also talking to every country in the world about having a football stadium named after Pele. In 50 or 100 years, when a child asks, ‘Who was Pele?’ then we will be able to remember him. In the place where he used to score his goals, we see the emotions of football. We have to make sure this happens.”
It would be an unprecedented commemoration of any player, even one of Pele’s exalted standing, giving the impression that Infantino had – not for the first time in recent weeks – over-exaggerated for public effect.
“Pele has a unique legacy,” Infantino argued. “He received a gift from God, a gift that very few people on Earth have, which is to touch people’s hearts and emotions. The fact is, there are many people around the world, millions, billions, who like me have never seen him play, but who are thinking about and honouring him.
“Of course, I was lucky enough to meet him in person, but I didn’t see him play. It was my father who spoke so many times to me about him. The legacy that he leaves behind is singular.
“He was the first in the world to do many things that 99 per cent of players can only dream about, and maybe the other one per cent can only do some of the things he did. We will hold him in our hearts, and we will ensure that the world of football remembers him forever.”
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