Luiz Mello, AFP, Getty Images
Handout picture released by the Rio 2016 Olympic Committee showing former football player Pele holding the Olympic flame at the Pele Museum in Santos, Sao Paulo State, Brazil, on July 22, 2016. Getting your player ready...
RIO DE JANEIRO — Three-time World Cup champion Pele says he was invited to light the cauldron at the opening ceremony of the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, but sponsorship deals could stop him from performing the prestigious task.
Speaking at an event in Rio, Pele said he was invited to light the cauldron by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach and Rio 2016 organizing committee chairman Carlos Arthur Nuzman.
Philip Wilkinson, a spokesman for the Rio 2016 organizing committee, did not confirm the information, saying the identity of the person lighting the cauldron was a surprise.
Pele, 75, said he has a commitment to a sponsor that would make him travel on Friday, the day of the Opening Ceremony.
