Pele to auction 229 sports memorabilia to aid Brazil’s COVID-19 fight

A Brazil jersey owned by Pele; an All Blacks shirt signed by Dan Carter; a New York Yankees photo autographed by Derek Jeter; David Beckham’s AC Milan shirt, plus others from Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe, are among 229 items that will be up for sale next month at an auction.
It was organised by Pele for the foundation he created in 2018 to help underprivileged children.
The Brazilian is the only player to claim three World Cup winner’s medals and a man often called the greatest footballer of all time.
He said all monies raised would help Brazil’s fight against and recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
So far, 575,000 people have died in Brazil from Covid-19, the second-highest death toll in the world after the U.S.
“Pele is such a legend, he’s an icon and other sports stars look up to Pele,” Martin Nolan, Executive Director and CFO of Beverly Hills-based Julien’s Auctions, told Reuters.
“Because he was at home in his bubble, he had the time to focus on this project.”
Pele has provided some of his items for the September 22 auction but he has also called in favours from friends in the sport and entertainment worlds.
There are Brazil, Santos and New York Cosmos jerseys and photos autographed by the 80-year-old Pele, and others signed by ex-Brazil teammates such as Rivellino, Jairzinho and Clodoaldo.
Mario Zagallo, the coach of the revered 1970 Brazil World Cup-winning side, who turned 90 earlier this month, also contributed as did Neymar, Roberto Baggio and Roger Milla.
World Cup winner Franz Beckenbauer signed several photographs from his New York Cosmos and West Germany days, and there is a match ball from the 2015 Champions League final.
Shirts and equipment used in basketball, American football, field hockey and water polo are also up for grabs.
One of the items expected to fetch a high price is a gold-plated bronze cast of Pele’s foot made by celebrity sculptor Dante Mortet.
Outside football, Justin Timberlake, Maria Sharapova, Mark Wahlberg and the NBA all donated items.
“Anything from Pele people will want, but you mention Ronaldo, you mention Mbappe, those icons will be sought after,” said Nolan of the Portugal and France forwards.
“But because it is a charity auction people always show up. They are always extremely generous and they pay more than in a normal auction because they know it is going to a good cause.”
This is not the first auction organised by Pele.
In 2016, he auctioned more than 1,600 items from a collection he accumulated over six decades in the limelight and raised £3.6 million ($4.90 million).
This latest auction will take place at the Mall Galleries in London and is also open to online bidders.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette

States
Independence: NBA urges Nigerians to expect better future
The NBA said that ordinary Nigerians should be deriving benefit from the subsidy removal rather than hardship.

Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Sport
Nigeria’s Future Eagles arrive in Azerbaijan for inaugural FIFA U-15 World Cup
Nigeria’s Future Eagles arrived in Azerbaijan on Thursday, ahead of the first edition of the FIFA Under-15 World Cup and Festival, holding from October 22 to 31.

Economy
Businesses seek easier Nigeria-China payments as Cardoso meets investors
Business leaders operating between Nigeria and China have called for more efficient cross-border payments and stronger banking ties.

Rights
EU’s Sakharov Prize awarded to International Criminal Court
The European Union has awarded its 2026 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Politics
Gov Alia inaugurates Tinubu’s door-to-door campaign funded by Tompolo
Mr Alia inaugurated President Bola Tinubu’s Door-to-Door Movement campaign ahead of the 2027 elections, donating 25 vehicles to support its activities.

Africa
Nigeria: WHO investigators pursue all leads to assess risk of Ebola spread
Nigeria is the fifth country this year after DRC, France, Uganda, and Kenya to confirm the presence of Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus.

States
Nigeria’s floods killed 245 people, displaced over 200,000, says NEMA
NEMA said flooding affected 673,350 people across 134 local government areas in 28 states, displacing 214,997 and killing 245 as of October 20.





