Following FIFA president Gianni Infantino's request to have all nations name a stadium after late football icon Pele, it is an African nation that is the first to follow suit.
Official: Algeria Reject Morocco CHAN Participation Demands
At the Brazilian legend's funeral, the head of world football's governing body proposed that each of FIFA's member associations name a stadium after Pele, who tragically passed away at the age of 82 last week, and Cape Verde appears to be the first nation to follow through with Infantino's request.
With the Swiss emphasising the need for the next generation to be aware of the legendary attacker's importance to the game, Cape Verde's national stadium, the 15 000-seater Estadio Nacional de Cabo Verde, will now be known as the Pele Stadium.
"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," the country's prime minister Ulisses Correia e Silva wrote 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."
Mbappe 'Wants' PSG To Sign Barca Star
Pele scored 77 goals for A Selecao on his way to picking up three FIFA World Cup titles for the South Americans, in the process becoming the only man to have won that many World Cups as a player.
You must be SIGNED IN to read and post comments.
WATCH VIDEO:
