INFANTINO: FIFA TO ASK EVERY COUNTRY TO NAME A STADIUM AFTER PELE

Gianni Infantino, the head of the sport’s governing body, said Monday at Pele’s funeral that FIFA will ask all countries around the world to name a stadium after the late Brazilian football legend.

Infantino was in Santos, Brazil, to pay his respects to the man widely regarded as the greatest player of all time, who died Thursday at the age of 82.

“We’re going to ask every country in the world to name one of their football stadiums Pele,” Infantino told reporters at the Vila Belmiro, the stadium where the player known as “The King” first burst onto the world stage with his exploits for his longtime club, Santos FC.

Infantino was among the first to pay tribute to Pele’s open casket, which was displayed in the middle of the field at Vila Belmiro stadium, as part of a 24-hour wake attended by the heads of the South American and Brazilian football confederations.

“We’ve come with a heavy heart,” Infantino said. “Pele is immortal. He is a football icon around the world.”

FIFA had already lowered the flags of the world to half-mast outside its Zurich headquarters in honor of Pele, whom the organization has named the greatest player of the twentieth century.

Pele, the only player in history to win three World Cups, died of cancer in a hospital in Sao Paulo.

The wake on Monday will be followed by a funeral procession through the streets of Santos on Tuesday, followed by a private interment ceremony.