December 30, (THEWILL) –Â A date has been set for the funeral of the late Brazilian football legend, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, as Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro, declared three days of national mourning in his honour.
The news of the death of the 82-year-old football icon from the impacts of severe colon cancer broke on Thursday, and his remains will be committed to earth on January 2nd.
There has been an unceasing outpouring of tributes from football, sports, and elsewhere with Barack Obama, Neymar, and Lionel Messi, being just a few of those who have paid their respects to a player that was nicknamed “O Rei” – “the King” of football.
As regards the funeral, Pele’s former team Santos released the following statement: “The body of the greatest football player of all time will be laid to rest at Estadio Urbano Caldeira, in Vila Belmiro, where he enchanted the world.
“The body will go straight from the Albert Einstein Hospital to the Stadium at dawn on Monday [January 2] and the coffin will be placed in the centre of the lawn. The public wake is expected to begin at 10am.”
Meanwhile, President Bolsonaro, whose presidency will end on January 1, issued a decree that read: “Official mourning is declared throughout the country, for a period of three days, counted from the date of publication of this Decree, as a sign of regret for the death of Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele, a former football player.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
