Mourners in their thousands lined up through the night to pay their respects to Brazil football legend, Pele, lying in state at the homeground of his former club Santos.
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| Fireworks were set off as Pele arrives Santos’ football club homeground, the Urbano Caldeira stadium. Photo: GettyImages |
Pele’s coffin was placed at the center of the Urbano Caldeira stadium pitch in the city of Sao Paulo, with fans queuing on the streets to get inside the stadium.
The football icon who has won the World Cup thrice died on 29 December at the age of 82 at a hospital in Sao Paulo.
On Tuesday, there will be a procession through the streets of Santos to a private family burial.
Present at the memorial of Pele, Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, said, “We’re going to ask every country in the world to name one of their football stadiums with the name of Pele.”
After Pele’s death, the government of Brazil declared three days of national mourning.
Pele has been undergoing treatment for Colon cancer since 2021.
