Maracana stadium to be named after Pele

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Maracana stadium to be named after Pele

Maracana stadium to be named after Pele

By Muhaimin Olowoporoku

Maracana, the world-famous stadium in Brazil, is set to be named after football legend Pele.

The Rio de Janeiro state legislature has voted to change the official title of the stadium. 

The stadium would be called Edson Arantes do Nascimento- Rei Pele stadium.

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The 80-year old retired footballer being honoured played at the stadium many times for Brazil and scored his 1,000th goal in the stadium in 1969 for Santos against local club Vasco da Gama. 

The stadium hosted the final match in the 1950 and 2014 WorldCup tournament and the opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympics. It is currently named after a journalist, Mario Fiho, who lobbied for its construction in the 1940s. 

The legislature said though the football stadium will be renamed, the larger sport complex around the ground could retain its current name.

It is simply called Maracana after the neighbourhood in which it is located.

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