A three-time FIFA World Cup winner, Pele scored over 1000 goals in his career and is considered by many to be the greatest footballer of all time.
Speaking to reporters at Pele’s funeral, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said football’s governing body would ask its member associations to name their stadiums after the Brazilian great.
“For all those who love the good game, this is the day we don’t expect. The day we lost Pele,” Infantino said.
“We will ask every country in the world to name one of their football stadiums after Pele.”
At the request of the FIFA president, Cape Verde has now taken steps to rename the 15,000-seat Estadio Nacional de Cabo Verde in the country’s capital after Pele.
“As a tribute and recognition to this figure who made us all great, I intend to name our national stadium the “Pele Stadium”, an initiative that, I am sure, will be followed by several countries around the world. Prime Minister Ulisses Correira e Silva stated in a Facebook post.
“With the physical loss of Edson Arantes de Nascimento, King Pele, who soon became a planetary figure, a mass icon shows that sport has the power to unite the world, it is now our desire to pay tribute to him,” he added. Mr. Silva in a statement that emphasized the importance of Pele for Portuguese-speaking countries like Cape Verde.
“Cape Verde and Brazil have a common history and culture, because they are two sister countries, connected by the same language and identity.
“Pele is and will always be a reference in Brazil, in Portuguese-speaking countries and throughout the world, an idol that connects several generations.”
Meanwhile, Pele has been buried in the city of Santos.