FIFA Did NOT Announce Any Intention To Keep Pelé’s Feet In A Museum!

After the Brazilian football legend Pelé died on December 29, 2022, a claim going viral on social media said the world’s football governing body, FIFA, would keep the former Brazilian international player's feet at a museum and that his family had given the permission for the same. However, after reviewing news from reliable media and keyword searches, we found that the claim is false.

Social Media Claim

A viral claim recently circulating on social media said the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) – the world’s football governing body – would keep Pelé’s feet in the museum. The claim added that Pelé’s family had given the permission as well.

The claim came after the football legend, who won three World Cup champions with Brazil, died at the age of 82 on December 29 last year.

The claim has been widely shared, commented on, and reacted to after it was circulated on social media.

Below is the capture of the claim circulated on Facebook last Friday, saying, “Breaking: FIFA will keep Pele’s feet in the museum. Pele’s family has given the permission.”

Facebook Post | Archived Link

The same claim can be found on social media here, here, and here.

Fact Check

Fact Crescendo Cambodia began an investigation into the claim by searching keywords and reviewing news circulated by reliable international media. Thus, we found the facts below.

Even though the viral image along with this claim bore the text "TNT_SPORTS_BRAZIL" we did not find any news on their website nor on their social media handles of such news related to FIFA announcing that Pele's feet would be displayed at a museum.

First of all, we looked for an official statement from FIFA. Then we found three official press releases from the world’s football governing body after Pelé’s death was announced to the public last Thursday. But FIFA said nothing about how it would affect Pele’s feet after his death last week.

In its first press release on December 29, FIFA expressed its sadness and shock after Pele’s death and detailed what the former Brazilian international had done in football history.

In its second press release on December 30, FIFA told its president Gianni Infantino greatly admired Pele and his eternality in football history.

In its latest press release on January 02, FIFA said Gianni Infantino paid a tribute and farewell to Pele before he was laid off in the Santos stadium.

Second, we searched for news from reliable media by searching keywords. We did not see any reliable media reporting this kind of news.

Pelé died on December 29 last year at the age of 82. However, his legacy in football history is excellent to remember by people around the globe. He left his footprints at the famous hall of Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro. See images of Pelé’s footprints here.

Footprints of big names in Brazilian football history like Ronaldo Nazario, Kaka, and Ronaldinho are kept in the fame hall in Maracana stadium.

Next, we looked up the details of the viral image, which turned out to be of Pele’s feet. After conducting a reverse image search, we discovered an Instagram post by American photographer Annie Leibovitz. Leibovitz took this photo in 1981 and posted it on Pele’s birthday, October 23, 2020.

Instagram

A BBC report said Pele’s body was laid to rest at the stadium of Santos – a football club he had played for 19 years.

Conclusion

Fact Crescendo found that the claim mentioned above is false. The claim is just a baseless rumour. No FIFA’s official statement or reliable news said Pele’s feet would be kept in a museum.