Fans in Brazil oppose possibility of Maracana Stadium being named after Pele

As a result of a widespread outcry from fans, Rio De Janeiro abandoned plans to rename its famous Maracana Stadium after Pele. The official proposal to rename the ground was vetoed by state governor Claudio Castro. Last month, the Rio state legislature had voted to call the stadium 'King Pele Stadium,' but fans were angry at the removal of the stadium's existing official name.

Why Brazil fans are angry at the possibility of Maracana Stadium being renamed after Pele?

The Maracana Stadium is officially named 'Journalista Mario Filho' after the Brazilian journalist lobbied for it to be built in the 1940s. Filho had used his newspaper 'Jornal dos Sports' to organise a campaign where he convinced Rio's citizens that the stadium needed to be constructed closer to the city centre instead of building it in a neighbourhood far away. Mario Neto, who is Filho's grandson, told The Associated Press that while he recognises Pele's importance in Brazilian soccer, the Maracana Stadium exists because of his grandfather, and hence removing his grandfather's name is 'irrational.'

"There’s no sense in removing my grandfather’s name. If it weren’t for Mario Filho, there would be no Maracanã, there would be a 70,000-seater in a distant region. If it weren’t for Mario, Pelé would not have wanted so much to play at the stadium that was once the biggest in the world. This bill skipped the line in front of a lot of important things. As if Rio had no other problems," said Neto.  The 'other problems' seem to suggest a direct attack on the government for not tackling the COVID-19 pandemic as Brazil is one of the worst-hit countries with over 13 million cases and 345,000 deaths according to worldmetersinfo.com.

Pele goals record reason for Maracana Stadium renaming proposal

The primary reason there was a proposal for the renaming of the Maracana Stadium is because of Pele goals record. The Brazilian icon scored his 1,000th goal at the Maracana Stadium on November 19, 1969, and played several historical matches at this venue. Moreover, Pele also debuted for Brazil at the age of 16 at the Maracana on July 7, 1957. In that came, Pele scored his first of 77 goals in the Brazil shirt.

Meanwhile, Pele himself has not made any comments about this issue. Moreover, because of Pele health, he is also unlikely to show up for any ceremony even if the Maracana Stadium is named after him. Pele is known to suffer hip problems that have limited his mobility.