In Brazil, the nickname “king of soccer” is commonly used as a synonym for the best, unparalleled, or excellent, such as “I have to be a Pelé today!” or “She is the Pelé of art!” The Pelé Foundation, Santos FC, and Globo’s SporTV channel launched a campaign to have Edson Arantes do Nascimento’s nickname, who passed away in December at the age of 82, included in Portuguese language dictionaries.
The “Pelé in the Dictionary” initiative, launched on April 14th, aims to “officialize Pelé in the Portuguese language as an adjective synonymous with exceptional, incomparable, and unique,” according to a statement. A website was created to collect 100,000 signatures to “raise awareness among publishers” and encourage them to include the nickname of the player considered by many to be the best footballer in history. The campaign even proposes a definition of “Pelé” (“the best”) and what it means to “be Pelé”: “1. Better than all others. 2. A reference to greatness 3. Incomparable. 4. Synonymous with excellence 5. Unique.” The creators of the campaign cite at least five reasons why the only three-time world champion footballer (1958, 1962, and 1970) deserves to be included in Portuguese dictionaries, including his legendary status and numerous records and titles, his role in stopping a war in Africa, and his off-field medals and achievements.
The campaign has no deadline for gathering support and coincides with other tributes taking place in South America four months after the death of the legendary number 10, who internationalized Brazilian football and claimed to be the greatest scorer in history (1,283 goals). In honor of Pelé, a minute of silence is observed during Brazil’s championship matches, as well as the Libertadores and Sudamericana Cups.