WATCH | Brazil bids farewell to 'king of soccer' Pelé with 24-hour wake

The Brazilian coastal city of Santos, which sporting giant Pelé turned into a byword for football brilliance during a glittering club career, started bidding goodbye to its hero on Monday with a 24-hour wake.

Mourners lined up to see Pelé's body in an open casket in the centre of the field at the Vila Belmiro stadium, home of the Santos Football Club. Pelé died on Thursday at 82 after battling colon cancer.

“Pelé leaves millions of Santos fans across our country. He was the creator of Brazilian soccer,” said Antonio da Paz, a fan outside the stadium for the memorial that began at 10am local time (3pm on Monday SA time).

Fifa President Gianni Infantino was among the first to arrive for the service and said he would ask every country to name a stadium after Pelé, the only man to win the World Cup three times as a player.

“Pelé is eternal,” Infantino said. “Fifa will certainly honour the 'king' as he deserves.

“We have asked all football associations in the world to pay a minute of silence before every game and will also ask them, 211 countries, to name a stadium after Pelé. Future generations must know and remember who Pele was.”

Edson Arantes do Nascimento — Pelé's given name — was born in 1940 in the small country town of Tres Coracoes, but moved to Santos in 1956 and lived there for most of his life.

In the early hours of Monday, his body arrived under fireworks in the city of about 430,000 people from Sao Paulo's Albert Einstein Hospital.

Former Brazil midfielder Ze Roberto and Pelé's son Edinho helped place his coffin on the field, TV footage showed. Floral wreaths were sent by the likes of Neymar, Vinicius Junior and Spanish club Real Madrid.

On Tuesday, a procession carrying Pelé's coffin will pass through the streets of Santos, ending at the Ecumenical Memorial Necropolis cemetery, where he will be buried in a private ceremony.

Santos' press office said some 5,000 journalists from all over the world had been accredited to cover the wake of Pelé, who scored more than 1,000 goals for Santos.

Several government officials are set to attend the memorial, including newly sworn-in Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and vice-president Geraldo Alckmin, a longtime Santos supporter.

Lula will pay his respects and pay tribute to Pelé and his family on Tuesday morning, the president's office said in a statement.

Sao Paulo state military police said in a statement they had prepared a special operation called the “King Pelé Operation” to ensure public order.

“I'll be here all day, 24 hours, from 10am to 10am,” fan Roberto Santos said. “Pelé deserves it”.