ACHIEVEMENTS

• For his impressive line-up of victories and the extraordinary role in catapulting the status of the sport to newer heights, he received numerous prestigious honors and decorations including Brazil's Gold Medal, Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire and Lifetime Achievement Award from BBC.
• The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) voted him as the Football Player of the Century in 1999. Additionally, he was elected as the ‘Athlete of the Century’ by the International Olympic Committee and Reuters News Agency
• In 2010, he was appointed as the Honorary President of New York Cosmos. In 2012, he was awarded honorary degree from the University of Edinburgh for ‘significant contribution to humanitarian and environmental causes, as well as his sporting achievements’.