Tanzania mourns legend Pele
PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has joined the rest of the world in mourning the Brazilian football legend, Edson Arantes do Nascimento ‘Pele’ saying his contribution to the game of football will be remembered forever.
“I am heartbroken with the death of Pele and his contributions to the game of football will be greatly missed.
“I send my condolence to the President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro, his family and all football fans around the world. May his soul rest in peace,” the president wrote on her Instagram page.
Meanwhile, some of Tanzania football players and clubs have taken it to their Instagram pages to mourn Pele’s death who passed away on Thursday aged 82.
He has left behind series of world cup records which without doubt will take long time to be broken and this is what makes him exceptional.
Taifa Stars skipper Mbwana Samatta is among several football stars in the country who have expressed their shock over the death of Pele.
On his Instagram account, Samatta posted Pele’s photo captioned: “Bye bye the legend of the game. Rest in Peace.”
Likewise, Young Africans player Feisal Salum has also revealed his feelings about the death of Pele on his Instagram page writing: “Rest in Peace King of Football Pele.”
Furthermore, Simba have mourned him through their Instagram platform where they have posted his picture captioning it “Your legacy will live forever.”
Yanga wrote: “Rest in peace Pele. Thank you for the joy you brought to football fans in the world.” While Ihefu on their account, they wrote: “Rest in Peace King of Football, Pele.”
In 1958, he won his first world cup for Brazil at 17 years old, becoming the youngest winner ever.
He went on to win another two world cups in 1962 and 1970 making him the only player in the world to win three world cup trophies.
Meddy Mulisa reports from Bukoba that hundreds of football fans in Kagera joined the rest of the world in mourning the demise of football legend Pele of Brazil, who passed away on Thursday afternoon aged 82 years.
Jacob Kilyanga (65), a former striker with Balimi Football Club and now coach could hardly hold his tears upon learning on Pele’s death. “The world has lost a ‘King”. Pele will always shine in the hearts of soccer fans the world over,” he said.
Salome Kokwijuka (23), a Primary School teacher and a referee in Bukoba Municipal Council described Pele as a legendary adding… “Pele turned football into art, into entertainment. He gave a voice to the poor and especially to black people,” she remarked.
An international icon, Pele is the only man to have won the World Cup three times, clinching victory for Brazil in the 1958, 1962, and 1970 tournaments. At the time of his first men’s World Cup competition, Pele was 17 years old and the youngest player to ever participate.
The boy, who’d become King was born on October 23, 1940, in Tres Coracoes, a modest municipality in southeastern Brazil.
Alongside Diego Maradona of Argentina, Pele was declared the joint winner of FIFA’s Player of the Century award in 2000. In 1999, the International Olympic Committee gave him the honour of Athlete of the Century.
