Cape Verde has become the first country to name a stadium after Pelé following FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s call for all nations to do so, reports Standard UK.

The African country’s prime minister said he would name his national stadium, Estádio da Várzea, after the Brazilian great, who died at the age of 82 on December 29.

Cape Verde, which is made up of a group of islands west of the main African continent in the Atlantic Ocean, shares Portuguese as a common language with Brazil.

Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva said that Brazil and Cape Verde have a history and a culture that “go hand in hand, considering that they are two brother countries, united by language and by very similar identities.”

“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”, added the Prime Minister. ”As a tribute and recognition to this figure who makes us all great, I express the intention (of the Government) to call our national stadium ‘Pele Stadium’ in an initiative that I believe will be supported by several countries around the world. us.”

Cape Verde’s official government website said the executive had already notified FIFA of his intention to change the name of the stadium.

Infantino told reporters in Brazil on Monday: “We are going to ask every country in the world to name one of their soccer stadiums after Pele.”

Pele was laid to rest in Brazil on Tuesday after lying in state for 24 hours at the Vila Belmiro Stadium, the home of his former club Santos.

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