After FIFA President Gianni Infantino confirmed in a press conference that he would be asking all FIFA-affiliated countries to rename a stadium to uphold Brazilian icon Pelé’s legacy, Cape Verde’s Prime Minister has proposed that their national team’s stadium will be renamed ‘Estádio Pelé’.
José Ulisses Correia e Silva announced that his government is considering making renaming the Estádio Nacional after the late Brazilian legend, who tragically passed away aged 82. The 15,000 seater stadium in Praia plays host to Cape Verde’s international fixtures, and Mr Correia e Silva believes it would be a touching tribute that symbolises Pelé’s influence over Portuguese-speaking nations. The Prime Minister added that ‘Pelé was and will always be somebody everyone looks up to, in Brazil, in the Lusophone [Portuguese-speaking] countries and the rest of the world, being an icon who connects several generations’
FIFA have already renamed the pitch at their headquarters in Zürich, with the ground now being known as ‘Estádio Pelé – FIFA Zürich’. We’ll have to wait and see if any other countries follow suit.
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