Wednesday, January 4, 2023 – 12:50 AM
Santos, on January 3 / WAM / After a legendary farewell ceremony in which tens of thousands participated over the course of many hours, Brazilian football legend Pele reached his final resting place.
Pele’s coffin finally reached its final resting place at the Necropol Ecomenica Memorial Cemetery in Santos, where the only star to win the World Cup 3 times is buried.
Pele’s coffin was moved from the stadium of the Brazilian club “Santos” following the end of the “last look” ceremony at his body, which lasted from yesterday, Monday, until today, Tuesday, and reports indicated that tens of thousands of fans of the game and the late star participated in these ceremonies, in addition to the participation of many Notable personalities from various fields.
Pele’s coffin was placed on the roof of a fire engine accompanied by a number of police cars, and many people lined the sides of the road and waved the flags of the Santos club, among whose ranks Pele glowed, and the procession passed the home of Donna Celeste, Pele’s mother, who recently turned 100 years old.
New Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and more than 150,000 mourners took part in a final farewell look at Pele’s coffin.
Today, Tuesday, Lula attended the funeral ceremony for Pele’s body, and participated in the prayer with the relatives and friends of the late star, around the casket, and Gianni Infantino, President of the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA), attended the Santos stadium yesterday.
The Necropol Memorial Cemetery is the longest cemetery in the world, with 16,000 graves divided over 14 floors.
Media reports indicated that Pele chose during his life the grave designated for his burial on the ninth floor and overlooks the Santos club stadium, for which Pele played most of his football career, and which witnessed yesterday and today the “last look” ceremony at the body of the late soccer legend.
Mustafa Badr Al-Din / Ahmed Zahran
