Cape Verde to name its national football stadium after Pele
The African nation of Cape Verde is to name its national stadium after the late footballer Pele, their Prime Minister has announced.
This comes after Fifa president Gianni Infantino said he would ask every country in the world to name one stadium after the Brazilian superstar.
The 15,000-capacity Estadio Nacional de Cabo Verde is set to become the Pele Stadium.
“King Pele”
“As a tribute and recognition to this figure that makes us all great, I manifest the intention of naming our national stadium as ‘Pele Stadium’, in an initiative that, I believe, will be followed by several countries around the world,” said Ulisses Correia e Silva, the Prime Minister of Cape Verde on Facebook.
“With the physical disappearance of Edson Arantes de Nascimento, King Pele, who soon became a planetary figure, an icon of the masses showing that sport has the power to unite the world, it is now our wish to pay tribute to him.
“Cape Verde and Brazil have a history and culture that go hand in hand, considering they are two sister countries, linked by language and very similar identities.
“Pele was and always will be a reference in Brazil, in our Portuguese-speaking countries and in the rest of the world, being an idol that links several generations.”
Pele died aged 82 on 29 December and will go down as one of the greatest footballers of all time.
Cape Verde will be hoping to qualify for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast – which is being held in January 2024.
The nation qualified to the knockout stages of the tournament when it was held in 2022 but lost to eventual winners Senegal 2-0 in the round of 16.