Lula-Pele

Brasilia, January 2 (PL)-- Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will hold the wake of sports legend Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pelé), who died on Thursday, as the first event of his official agenda in power on Monday.

The UOL portal assures that members of Lula's team were at the Urbano Caldeira stadium, Vila Belmiro, in Santos, coastal city of Sao Paulo, to define the security protocols for the funeral of the man considered the best soccer player of all times.

According to the site, the presidential inauguration ceremony of the founder of the Workers' Party on Sunday included a tribute to Pelé: instead of 21 cannon shots, there was a one-minute silence ceremony.

UOL indicates that other governors should attend the wake, such as Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, a fan of the Santos club, the club of the Black Pearl's love, as some sports commentators nicknamed the former player.

Former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso and the new governor of Sao Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas, will also attend.

The presence of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Ednaldo Rodrigues, head of the Brazilian Football Confederation, and Alejandro Domínguez, head of the South American Football Confederation, have also been confirmed.

The burial of the ex-footballer, who died at the age of 82, will take place tomorrow, according to Santos.

His body, embalmed at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo, will be taken to the sports center on Monday.

When the coffin is placed in the center of the lawn, the wake is scheduled to begin at 10:00, local time, and will be open to the public until the same time tomorrow, when a procession will be held through the streets of Santos.

The procession will also pass through the area known as Canal Seis, where Pelé's mother, Dona Celeste (over 100 years old) lives, continuing to the Memorial Ecumenical Necropolis for the burial reserved for family and friends.

O Rei was diagnosed in September 2021 with colon cancer and was admitted to Einstein for treatment in February of this year.

On November 29, he was admitted again to the health center for a reevaluation of the chemotherapy method.

A last medical report indicates that the "jogo bonito" monarch died at 15:27, local time, on December 29, victim of a multi-organ failure, as a result of the progression of colon cancer associated to his previous clinical condition. He closed his eyes surrounded by his children and grandchildren.