Following the request made by FIFA President Gianni Infantino for every nation to do so, Standard UK writes that Cape Verde has become the first nation to dedicate a stadium after Pele.
The African nation’s prime minister said that they would rename their national stadium, Estádio da Várzea, in honour of the legendary Brazilian athlete who passed away on December 29 at the age of 82.
Brazilian and Cape Verdean history and culture, according to Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva, “go hand in hand, considering that they are two sister countries, linked by language and by extremely similar identities.”
Portuguese is a shared language between Brazil and Cape Verde, a collection of islands in the Atlantic Ocean to the west of the main African continent.
The Prime Minister said, “Pele was and will always be a reference in Brazil, in our Portuguese-speaking world and in the rest of the world, being an idol that connects several generations, as a tribute and recognition to this figure who makes us all great, I manifest the intention (of the Government) to name our national stadium as ‘Pele Stadium’ in an initiative to which, I believe, several countries around the world will accompany us.”
“We’re going to ask every country in the world to name one of their football stadiums with the name of Pele.” Infantino said to reporters on Monday in Brazil.
According to the official website of the government of Cape Verde, the administration had already informed FIFA of its plan to rename the stadium.
