Everton can be English club to name new stadium after Pele after outrageous Gianni Infantino idea
Gianni Infantino is a figure who certainly divides opinion – and his latest suggestion would certainly not go down well with Everton fans.
The Times report (2 January) the FIFA president has called on every single country to name one of their stadiums after footballing icon, Pele.
The legendary Brazil forward, who many consider to be the best to ever play the game, sadly passed away last week and it hasn’t taken long for Infantino to draw all the attention to himself.
Without disrespecting Pele, the idea to name a stadium in every country after him is a slightly outrageous idea. Where would you even begin? Is it plausible to ask clubs to change their stadium’s name?
Realistically, a new stadium would have to be targetted by the governing body, and sadly for Everton, their new stadium could potentially be the prime option for the FIFA president.
Pele has actually graced the turf at Goodison Park, having crashed out of the 1966 World Cup with Brazil after a 3-1 defeat to Portugal (Liverpool Echo, 30 December).
Although it’s momentous that one of the best to ever kick a football has graced the Goodison Park turf, it probably doesn’t merit a brand new 60,000-seater stadium being named after him.
It’s fair to say that if Infantino does cast his eye on Everton’s currently unnamed new stadium, he will be shown a rather cold shoulder by those on Merseyside.
The Bramley Moore-Dock structure is really starting to take shape now with roof structures starting to be implemented. It will be a sad day when Everton do leave Goodison Park and let’s hope they aren’t going to be moving to a stadium which has been named after a famous Brazilian footballer.