Football is often compared to a religion for its fans, and Francis held numerous giant masses in football stadiums during trips abroad.
Pele's New York Cosmos took on Eusebio's Boston Minutemen in a North American Soccer League (NASL) game for their first meeting since the 1966 FIFA World Cup England, when Brazil and Portugal met in the group stage at Goodison Park.
Santos won promotion back to Brazil's Serie A with a 2-0 win over Coritiba on Monday as Pele's former club secured top flight status a year after being relegated for the first time.
Yamal started for Spain in the final a day after celebrating his 17th birthday and became the youngest player ever to play in a major international final, breaking a record Pele had set way back in the 1958 World Cup final.
Sixteen-year-old Yamal eclipsed Brazilian great Pele to become the youngest player to score in a World Cup or Euros with a stunning 21st-minute strike that sailed into the top corner, helping Spain come from a goal down to beat France 2-1.
Considered by many the greatest footballer of all time, Edson Arantes do Nascimento -- better known as Pele -- won three World Cups with Brazil and scored more than 1,000 goals over his storied career.
Celeste Arantes, the mother of Brazilian football legend Pele, has died aged 101, outliving her famous son by 18 months, the family announced Friday.
The country of Pele, Garrincha and Ronaldinho, which once wowed the world with its 'samba' style, has not won the World Cup since 2002. Nor has it produced a Ballon d'Or winner since Kaka in 2007.
The five-times World Cup winners are renowned for their "jogo bonito" philosophy and reputation of churning out the world's most talented players, the latest being 17-year-old starlet Endrick who scored against England on Saturday.
Fans of football superstar Pele congregated Sunday outside the Sao Paulo hospital where the 82-year-old Brazilian icon is being treated for a respiratory infection.
Brazilian football legend Pele said on Saturday that he feels "strong, with a lot of hope" despite medical problems that have kept the 82-year-old sports icon in the hospital with a respiratory infection.
World Cup host nation Qatar showed its support for Pele on Saturday, lighting up buildings with a "Get well soon" message for the Brazil football great.
Brazilian soccer legend Pele is receiving palliative care after chemotherapy stopped having the expected results as he battles colon cancer, newspaper Folha de S.Paulo reported on Saturday.
Brazilian football legend Pele has been hospitalised again, but there is "no emergency," his daughter said Wednesday, the latest health issue for the 82-year-old icon, who has been in treatment following a colon tumor.
Football legend Pele gave Brazil a virtual pre-match pep talk Thursday as the national team prepared to make their World Cup debut, telling them: "Bring this trophy home."
Brazil great Pele backed the team to live up to their billing as World Cup favourites and capture a record-extending sixth title in Qatar, saying he has full confidence in the 26-man squad selected by head coach Tite.
Pele, Neymar and other big names in Brazilian football voiced outrage Friday over a Spanish agent's allegedly racist comments on Brazil and Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior, whom he urged to stop "acting like a monkey."
Brazil's Congress has established a committee to oversee the national team's preparations for the 2022 World Cup, saying the Selecao's image is at a "low point" after a series of defeats bruised the national ego.
Argentina striker Lionel Messi scored five goals in a 5-0 friendly win over Estonia on Sunday, a result which helped him overtake Hungary’s great Ferenc Puskas among the all-time international top scorers.
