Pelé

:This article is about the soccer player. For other articles with the name Pele see Pele.

Accolades

Pelé is in third place in the list of all-time top goalscorers in World Cup play, with 12 goals, and is the only player who won three World Cups with his team. He ended his career with a total of 1281 goals in 1363 matches, becoming the highest goalscorer in professional football ever. In his 92 appearances for the Brazilian team, he scored 77 goals.

Related Topics:
Goals - Brazilian team

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He was awarded Brazil's Gold Medal for outstanding services to the sport, before becoming Sports Minister in 1994. In 1997, he was given an honorary British knighthood.

Related Topics:
Gold Medal - 1994 - 1997 - Knighthood

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In 1992, Pelé was appointed a United Nations Ambassador for Ecology and the Environment.

Related Topics:
1992 - United Nations

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In 1995, he was appointed an Ambassador for UNESCO at the Goodwill Games.

Related Topics:
1995 - UNESCO - Goodwill Games

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He was voted athlete of the century by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1999.

Related Topics:
International Olympic Committee - 1999

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In December 2000, Pelé was named Footballer of the Century by a "Family of Football" committee appointed by FIFA, after a web poll favored Diego Maradona. (For details of the controversial process, see Sports Illustrated Article).

Related Topics:
December - 2000 - FIFA - Diego Maradona

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In the same year, Pelé received the Laureus World Sports Awards Lifetime Achievement Award from South African President Nelson Mandela.

Related Topics:
Laureus World Sports Awards - South African - Nelson Mandela

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Pelé is a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.

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