There are so many interesting, fascinating and intriguing stories about legendary Pele, but one that stands out is probably the one from 1969 when the Brazilian magician and his club Santos allegedly managed to stop the civil war in Nigeria.Led by Pele, Santos went to Africa in February 1969 on a tour that included friendlies in Mozambique, Ghana, Algeria, Congo and Nigeria. We express our sorrow following the sad passing of football icon and Brazilian great Edson Arantes Do Nascimento ‘Pele.’ We mourn his demise with the rest of the football family worldwide and the Brazilian football family in particular. May his soul rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/gtEkenk60M— The NFF 🇳🇬 (@thenff) December 29, 2022 Before Santos agreed to the friendly in such a dangerous place, during the notorious Biafra war, the CONMEBOL asked for all the necessary guarantees to ensure their safety upon arrival in Nigeria. Samuel Ogbemudia, who was the local governor at the time, ordered a public holiday on the same day that Santos arrived.IN MEMORIAM: Edson Arantes do Nascimento – PeleOver time, the legendary tale of Pele stopping the civil war in Nigeria has generated debates among fans, as well as experts in the field who have dedicated themselves to studying what happened in 1969.##EDITORS_CHOICE##Researchers have indicated that Santos was used as war propaganda and the area that they play did not represent a great risk since the war was far away and Santos was never in danger.In his autobiography, published in 2007, Pele admitted that he was not entirely sure the story of the 48-hour ceasefire was true, but that he was sure the Nigerians had made sure the Biafrans did not attack while they were there, citing the presence of large numbers of soldiers and police officers on the streets of the city during their stay in Nigeria. Four years later, in an interview with CNN (2011), however, he had no doubt that the ceasefire was real. ##NAJAVA_MECA_6916506##”Yes, I am proud of that moment because, you know – with our team, Santos, we stopped the war. Because people are crazy about football, they stopped the war to watch Santos play in Africa,” Pele said.Tributes flow as the world mourns PelèAll in all, if anyone at that time had the power to do anything, even temporarily stop the war, it was Pele. It is up to us to decide whether to believe a story with many different versions. Just like the one about more than 1.000 goals he scored…
