Brazil’s most recognisable celebrity wants Sheikh Hasina on board as he touts his brand-new initiative to use the power of football as the glue to bind people together for climate action.
He is planning a Pelé Earth Cup – a Pelé Initiative for Climate Action and World Peace – to “galvanize and unify 3.5 billion football fans… and create the largest voice for climate defence in the coming decades”.
He has made a passionate pitch to Bangladesh’s most visible climate campaigner, asking her to join forces with him to fight the devastating climate impacts causing havoc across the world.
The three-time World Cup winner has sent a letter and a video message to Prime Minister Hasina through the Pelé Foundation’s Special Representative Saiful Amin Bhuiyan.
He said he admired Hasina’s “mighty leadership in the global movement to stop climate change”.
Bangladesh is at the forefront of climate change adaptation and mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change.
The 78-year old, who was hospitalised with high fever while attending an event in Paris early on Wednesday BdST, has played a significant role to promote pressing social causes and helped save lives and improve the health of millions of children in Brazil.
Pelé has helped promote global causes such as ecology and environment, sports and development and peaceful resolution of conflicts as goodwill ambassador for the UN, UNESCO and UNICEF.
He started the letter, dated March 26, by congratulating Hasina and the people of Bangladesh on the Independence Day.The legendary striker recognised that Bangladesh has emerged as a role model for sustainable development for many countries over the past 10 years and said, “It is a fantastic achievement.”
“We belong to planet Earth, Earth does not belong to us!
“I wish you join hands with me in the Pelé Initiative for Climate Action and World Peace by harnessing the power of soccer as the most powerful unifying force for solidarity, harmony, fraternity and peace in an increasingly divided and alienated world,” the football great added.
The former Brazil sports minister also paid glowing tribute to Bangladesh’s founding father who in his words “was a leader of Himalayan stature and vision”.
“I am expressing my deepest respect to the glorious life and legacy of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.”
Saiful Amin Bhuiyan, the special representative who is expected to deliver the message to Hasina, told bdnews24.com that her patronage of the Pelé initiative will give a “huge boost to international branding of Bangladesh” and galvanise world attention to “the apocalyptic level of exposure of Bangladesh to climate change”.
“Climate is destiny not only for Bangladesh, but for the planet Earth as well,” he added.
“By galvanising 3.5 billion football fans as the most powerful voice for climate defence, this initiative will seek to engineer and sustain a tectonic paradigm shift from a suicidal economic output focused on zero-sum obsessed “world mentality” to an “earth mentality”.”
According to a media release, the founding principles and mission of Pelé Earth Cup will include, and its initiatives and operations be inspired and empowered by the noble ideals enunciated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN General Assembly Resolution 217 A) and United Nations Charter.
It will seek to restore and promote the spirit of brotherhood among peoples and nations on a planetary scale by harnessing the untapped transformative power of football and the brand name that Pelé represents as the living incarnation of the beautiful game, delivering enduring and sustainable impact.
Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pelé is regarded by many as being the greatest footballer in history.
Source: Bdnews24.