Tributes Pour In Across The Globe For World Cup Great ‘King’ Pele
Brazil is holding football legend Pele's funeral in the stadium where he played some of the best matches of his career.
Pele, whose full name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento, died on 29 December after a long battle with colon cancer. He was 82.
Santos, the club where Pele played, said in a statement that the public will be able to pay their final respects at Vila Belmiro Stadium, outside Sao Paulo. His casket will be carried through the streets of Santos and will pass in front of the home of his 100-year-old mother, Celeste.
The coffin carrying the three-time World Cup champion will leave Albert Einstein hospital early Monday and will be placed in the centre circle of the field. Mourners began paying their respects to Pelé in a solemn procession past his coffin at the Vila Belmiro Stadium. Visitation will be allowed from Monday 10am and will continue for the next 24 hours.
He will be burried at the Memorial Necropole Ecumenica, a vertical cemetery in Santos, only in presence of family on Tuesday.
