Brazil to name famous Maracana stadium after Pele

Brazil’s Maracana stadium will be named after the country’s football legend Pele, as the Rio de Janeiro state legislature voted on Tuesday to change its official title to the Edson Arantes do Nascimento – Rei Pele Stadium.

The 80-year-old Pele, whose full name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, played at the stadium many times for Brazil and scored his 1,000th goal there in 1969 – for Santos against local club Vasco da Gama.

Rei means king in Portuguese.

“It is a worthy homage to a man who is recognised the world over for his legacy in Brazilian football and for the corresponding services rendered to our country,” the deputy responsible for the project said.

The stadium, which played host to the 1950 and 2014 World Cup finals as well as the opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympics, has long been named after Mario Filho, a journalist who lobbied for its construction in the 1940s.

The legislature said the football stadium, with a capacity of almost 80,000, will be renamed but the larger sports complex around the ground can retain its current name.

Most Brazilians call it simply the Maracana, after the neighbourhood in which it is located.

The Rio state governor must give the go-ahead to the name change.