Pele to be buried in World's tallest cemetery overlooking the Santos pitch that made him famous
Pelé will be buried on the ninth floor of the world's tallest cemetery overlooking the Santos pitch that made him famous.
The Brazilian football legend is said to have chosen the floor to pay homage to his footballer father who wore the number nine shirt as a centre forward.
Pelé, who scored more than 1,000 goals in his career, died from cancer on December 29, aged 82.
On Monday, his coffin was placed on the centre circle of the Urbano Caldeira stadium in Sao Paulo, ahead of a private burial at a vertical cometary near the pitch the following day.
Thousands of fans queued to pay their respects to the three-time World Cup winner as his coffin lay in state at the home of his former club.
On Tuesday, Pelé will be laid to rest at a vault at the Memorial Necropole Ecumenica, the first vertical cemetery in Latin America. He is said to have picked the ninth floor to pay tribute to his father, Dodinho, who died in 1996.
The Ecumenical Memorial Necropolis was built in 1983 and, according to the Guinness Book of Records, is the tallest cemetery in the world with more than 14,000 vaults.
Designed by Argentine businessman Pepe Altstut, it was conceived to solve a problem of burials having to be held in muddy conditions due to the groundwater in the region.
The 14-floor high cemetery has a tropical garden, a 24-hour restaurant, and even a classic car museum.
Brazil’s government had declared three days of national mourning after Pele’s death last week.
Long queues had formed outside the stadium, with some fans waiting overnight for their opportunity to bid farewell to a player many consider the best to have ever lived.
Former Brazil midfielder Ze Roberto and Pelé's son Edinho were among those who placed his coffin on the pitch during a ceremony before fans and well-wishers were allowed to pay their respects.
Steve Scott reports from Brazil, where football fans have been paying their respects to Pelé
Among those paying their respects was FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who said the governing body would ask every country in the world to name a stadium in honour of Pelé.
Infantino told ITV News: “It's important that children in 20 years, 50 years, 100 years from now remember who Pelé was.
"He was the first in many things and we need to remember him in a stadium where goals are being scored, where emotions are being felt, because that was exactly the skill that Pelé had.
"It's a gift of God to be able to gift people with emotions. I think it is unique and we have to thank him for that."
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