Brazilians mourn Pele at the stadium where he got his start

03.01.2023 - 01:49 breakingnews.ie

Thousands of mourners, including high school students and supreme court justices, began filing past the body of Pele on Monday on the century-old field where he made his hometown team one of Brazil’s best.

The Brazilian football great died on Thursday. The only player ever to win three World Cups was 82. Pele’s coffin, draped in the flags of Brazil and the Santos FC football club, was placed on the midfield area of Vila Belmiro, the stadium outside Sao Paulo that was his home for most of his career.

A Catholic Mass will be celebrated there on Tuesday morning before his burial at a nearby cemetery. Brazil’s newly inaugurated President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will come to Vila Belmiro shortly before Pele’s coffin is removed from the stadium.

The storied 16,000-seat stadium was surrounded by mourning fans, and covered with Pele-themed decorations inside. Fans coming out of the stadium said they had waited three hours in line.

Football stadium Luiz Inácio Lula Da-Silva Pele Brazil Santos Sao Paulo

BOGOTA: Colombia is the first Latin American country to meet FIFA president Gianni Infantino's request to name a stadium after Pele.

Pele buried on ninth floor of world’s tallest vertical cemetery

The coffin of the late Brazilian football star Pele is transported to the Santos’ Memorial Cemetery after the funeral procession in Santos, Sao Paulo state, Brazil on January 3, 2023. – Brazilian football legend Pele’s remains arrived Tuesday at the cemetery where he will be interred in a mausoleum, after three days of national mourning, a 24-hour wake and a massive funeral procession. Pele’s casket, draped in the Brazilian flag and that of his longtime club, Santos FC, arrived atop a red firetruck at the Santos Memorial Cemetery, near the stadium where “The King” began his rise to become what many consider the greatest footballer of all time. (Photo by CAIO GUATELLI / AFP)

FIFA to ask all countries to name a stadium for Pele: Infantino

Infantino was in the city of Santos, Brazil, to pay his final respects to the player widely considered the greatest of all time, who died Thursday at the age of 82.

Brazil says final farewell to 'King' Pele

A flood of fans, politicians and football dignitaries have flocked to pay their respects to the player known as "The King" in the southeastern city of Santos, home to the club where he spent most of his storied career.

Fireworks greet Pele’s coffin as Brazil bid legend farewell

Mourners wear jerseys with an image of Brazilian football legend Pele as they queue to get in the Urbano Caldeira stadium, also known as Vila Belmiro, where a wake in his honour is being held, in Santos, Sao Paulo State, Brazil, on January 2, 2023. – Brazilians bid a final farewell this week to football giant Pele, starting Monday with a 24-hour public wake at the stadium of his long-time team, Santos. (Photo by CARL DE SOUZA / AFP)