Naples opens call for submissions for a statue honoring football great Maradona

ROME - The city of Naples called for submissions starting Tuesday for a statue or other monument to honor Diego Maradona, the football great who played for the local club, SS Calcio Napoli, during the peak of his career.

Maradona, who died at the age of 60 on Nov 25, 2020, in his native Argentina, played for Napoli from 1984-1991, a period that included the team's only two Serie A championships.

His death sparked an outcry of grieving in Naples, marked in part by the team's decision to change the name of what had been named "San Paolo Stadium" since it was constructed in 1959, to "Diego Armando Maradona Stadium" in the wake of the player's death. The team also retired Maradona's number 10, meaning it cannot be used by future players.

On Tuesday, news reports said two major murals in tribute to Maradona were close to completion in the city, one of them some 12 meters (39 feet) in height.

But the biggest news involved the plans for a major statue to pay homage to Maradona. The city invited sculptors to submit ideas for the newest monument already filled with cultural riches including the 12th-century Castel Ovo, the 2,000-year-old Catacombs of San Gennaro, the Renaissance-era Royal Palace, and the baroque San Carlo Theater. The contest for submissions was formally opened Tuesday.

The submissions will be evaluated by a committee made up of city officials, prominent art critics, football players, and Maradona's son, Diego Armando Jr.