NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 4 – Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba says Brazilian football legend Pele has left an indelible mark on the global society through his achievements on the pitch.
The 82-year-old three-time World Cup winner, who passed on last week after a long battle with cancer, was laid to rest on Tuesday in his Southeastern port city of Santos after a wake and funeral service attended by thousands of football fans.
Commenting on the Brazilian who made it to the worldwide limelight at the age of 17, Namwamba said Pele had uncovered the power of football to make the universe a better place.
“Who doesn’t know Pele?…even those of us born many years after he played know that football is synonymous with Pele. He was not just an incredibly gifted football who did mesmerizing things with the ball but also a player who personified the power of football…power to unite, break the barriers of race, language, region and of class,” Namwamba said.
The CS described the former Santos man as a symbol of sportsmanship and an example to many generations of sportspersons, including in Kenya, on the power of sports.
“He was a gentleman who rose from nowhere to become the single most potent symbol of sportsmanship. Even as we celebrate this great icon, we also celebrate him for what he has done to elevate sports to what it is currently. Pele demonstrated that whether you are black or white, American or African…sports is a language we can all understand,” Namwamba said.
During the funeral service for the legend, Fifa president Gianni Infantino requested federations across the globe to name at least one stadium in their geographical territories after the Brazilian.
It remains to be seen whether Kenya will agree to the same considering the previous calls for the government to honour the country’s own sporting heroes by naming various stadia after them.
