Eri-internationalsports would like to pay tribute to the inspiration that started our mission. Pele inspired millions and continues to inspire more. Our organization was driven by the brilliance of Pele and the fact that he overcame his challenges as a black man, but even more, his appeal to the world as a very much loved human being whose passion was the beautiful game. Born in 1940 as Edson Arantes do Nascimento in Minas Gerais, Brazil. He was known throughout the world as “Pele” a name he inherited as a young man while playing football. His father was a semipro player for Brazilian side Fluminense and was known by his nickname “Dondinho” but was born João Ramos do Nascimento. Pelé grew up in poverty in Bauru, São Paulo. He earned extra cash by shining shoes at the Bauru Athletic Club on game days. He was taught to play the game he perfected by his father who had a short stint in the professional ranks due to injury. Pele did not have the luxury of playing with football boots and balls so he started his journey in his neighborhoods by using balls made out of socks and sometimes using grapefruits and other fruits. He began to play for a local youth soccer team. It was at this time that he acquired the nickname “Pelé,” by which he is now known throughout the world. At 15, Pelé was transferred to Santos, a team in the much larger port city. Pelé would play for Santos for 18 years, and he would forever become associated with its white number 10 shirt, along with the yellow shirt of the Brazilian national team. During the years that Pelé played at Santos, the club team won numerous state and national championships in Brazil, and in 1962 and 1963 won two world club championships.
During what has been called Pelé’s reign, Santos frequently toured throughout the world in front of huge crowds. In Asia, Africa, and Europe, fans paid homage to this Black Brazilian. Concerned that such devotion might result in offers for Pelé to play for teams in richer countries, the Brazilian Congress declared the 22-year-old a “non-exportable national treasure” in 1962. During a visit to Nigeria by the team in 1969, the warring factions in a civil war agreed to a temporary truce lasting the duration of the Brazilian’s stay.
With the Brazilian national team, Pelé played in four World Cups, figuring in Brazil’s unprecedented three victories between 1958 and 1970. Pelé retired from Santos in 1974, but a year later, a multi-million-dollar offer lured him back into the game to play for the New York Cosmos as a North American league attempted to spread soccer to the United States. His second and final retirement came in October of 1977. Pelé is the complete soccer player to billions of people, in the history of the game. He was the first Black man to be on the cover of Life Magazine, for instance, and even more, than two decades after his professional soccer career, he is, certainly among the people of African descent, one of the most recognized in the world. Pelé Died on December 29, 2022, at 82 years old.
What made Pele unique is that he was always aware and conscious of who he was as an Afro-Brazilian even though he was a beautiful human being that represented what every person should aspire to be as an individual. So much so that when he retired in New York after a game between Santos his original club and the New York Cosmos in 1977 he ended his speech by getting the crowd involved to say the magic words of “Love, Love, Love”! three times to huge applause. It is also important to remember that Pele’s role in helping the game develop in the USA among immigrant communities and American youth is unparalleled. He was courted by presidents, and legends like Muhammed Ali and even made time for all people to share his presence. His motivation for the Howard University team of the 1970s continues to make Howard the best college soccer team in history as they won the 1974 NCAA division 1 title without losing or drawing in a single game throughout the season.
ብራዚላዊ ብሉጽ ታሪኽ ተጻዋታይ ኩዕሶ እግሪ ፔለ ኣብ መበል 82 ዓመቱ ካብዛ ዓለም ብሞት ተፈልዩ!!
ንዘልኣለም እንዳተዘከረ ክነብር እዩ ፡
