On the Scene: Rio 2016 in Abuja

Pele enjoys a moment withMoussa Aggrey,president of the Chad National Olympic Committee, at the ANOCA general assembly. (Getty Images)(ATR) The Rio 2016 bid team received applause as it was walking onto the stage at the general assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa in Abuja, Nigeria.

That was no doubt mostly due to the presence of Pele. The football icon is still one of the most famous athletes in Africa despite being retired more than 30 years.

Twenty-two minutes later, Rio also received hearty applause after delivering its bid plan.

None of the NOC officials seemed to mind that the team had gone over the 15-minute time limit -- and even exceeded the one or two minute extra time.

That's because Pele was speaking and telling stories about his career. He said that his greatest regret was that he turned pro too soon to become an Olympian. He said he was honored to carry the Olympic Flame in the 2004 Torch relay.

But he received his greatest ovation when he said that at his first World Cup in 1958, the only black players were from Brazil. Now, he said, there are even black players on the Swedish team.

Olympic medal-winning sprinter Robson da Silva called Brazil the "second-largest African country on the globe."

"The Africans who arrived in Brazil many years ago are not 85 million, almost half our population."

Only Nigeria has a population with more Africans.

Bid chief Carlos Nuzman, whose team presented third among the four candidate cities, was the most forceful of the bid leaders.

"This can be a milestone moment, an historic decision for the IOC and with your support, we can create history on behalf of the entire Olympic Movement."

Secretary general Carlos Roberto Osorio and minister of sports Orlando da Silva also gave presentations. Da Silva was the only speaker of the day to speak in Portuguese, which is the native tongue of four African countries.

"We expected a positive response, but the response was overwhelming," Osorio told Around the Rings. "It brought a lot of emotion to all of us there at the podium, especially to our athletes."

He said there was a positive mood for Rio from the beginning.

"The reason is simple: Brazil and Africa are very close together," he said. "I think it's very important."

The warm feeling for Rio overflowed into Madrid's presentation, with NOC officials approaching Pele for a photo as he sat in the back.

Will Pele, who also presented at the continental meeting of the Americas in Acapulco last year, be in Copenhagen for the IOC vote in October.

"Maybe," Nuzman said with a broad smile. "Maybe."

Written by

Karen Rosen

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