Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pele)
Football legend, Pelé to be buried, Tuesday
Funeral activities lined up for the late football legend, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, popularly known as Pele, will commence from next Monday while his burial is expected to take place the following Tuesday in Santos, Brazil.
This is according to an official statement released by the late football legend’s clubside, Santos FC, Friday.
Santos is located in the southeastern city where he played his club football most of his career.
“The wake for the greatest footballer of all time will be held in Urbano Caldeira Stadium, better known as the Vila Belmiro, where he enchanted the world,” Santos football club said in a statement, adding that Pele would then get a funeral procession through the city’s streets before a private burial ceremony.
Football legend, Edson Arantes do Nascimiento, better known as Pele, who inspired the South American nation of Brazil, on and off the field, died, late Thursday, after months of failed battle with colon cancer. He was aged 82.
Pelé had a tumor removed in September 2021 and had been undergoing chemotherapy since then. He was admitted into the hospital in late November, with his daughter saying it was to regulate his medication. However, in recent weeks, his condition worsened, and he was put into palliative care just a few days later.
Pelé was then placed into ‘elevated care’ last week related to ‘kidney and cardiac dysfunctions,’ the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo said in a statement. His agent confirmed his passing to Thursday.
A member of three Brazilian World Cup champion teams, Pelé was widely regarded as the greatest soccer player off all time and often was given credit for coining the term ‘the beautiful game,’ used to describe football.
Pele is credited with scoring a world record 1,281 goals in 1,363 appearances during a 21-year career, including 77 goals in 92 matches for his country and remains the only football player to win the World Cup three times, lifting the trophy in 1958, 1962 and 1970, he was eventually named Fifa’s Player of the Century in 2000.
His daughter Kely Nascimento who has kept fans updated on her father’s condition with regular social media updates from the hospital, on Thursday, posted a picture of what appeared to be Pele’s family’s hands on his body in the hospital and wrote: “Everything we are is thanks to you. We love you infinitely. Rest in peace.”
