Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba has said the government hasn’t ruled out yet the possibility of renaming one major stadium in Kenya to Pele in an effort to honour the late legend.
Pele, 82, the only footballer to ever win three world cups, passed away last week after a long struggle with illness, including cancer.
Namwamba said the government is looking into FIFA’s request and will share the final decision once they are done.
“That is a process that is going to be subject to consultations. Pele is an icon, a great of our time. I am particularly a big fan of him not only as a footballer but also because he personified what football can do to the world. He ripped down the barriers of race, language and culture. He made it possible for us to speak one language called football,” the CS said.
Currently, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau and Colombia have already renamed their stadium to the legend’s name to honor him.
Other’s however, have said it would difficult for them to honour the legend while they have their own heroes to pay tribute to.
“Yeah, it would be such a great honour to have sporting facilities across the world named in honour of this, definitely, certainly and unequivocally, football great. The mere fact that he was simply called Pele made it easy for many of us to interact with him,” he said.
