Romario elected to Brazil’s legislature

Retired Brazilian footballer Romario was elected to the lower chamber of Brazil’s legislature, election officials said yesterday.

Romario de Souza Faria ran on a Socialist Party ticket in southeastern Rio de Janeiro state in Brazil’s national elections on Sunday. His party is allied with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s Workers Party.

Although he has no political experience, Romario, 44, promised to “score a new goal for Brazil” and vowed to support sports programmes and policies favouring disabled persons. His youngest daughter, Ivy, has Down Syndrome.

Romario was a member of Brazil’s 1994 World Cup winning team, and played for Barcelona and Valencia in Spain, PSV Eindhoven in the Nether-lands, and Vasco da Gama, Flamengo and Fluminense in Brazil.

He was voted FIFA World Player of the Year in 1994. The famed striker scored more than 1,000 goals during his career before he retired in 2007.

Fans and photographers swarmed Romario when he drove up in an armoured BMW to cast his ballot. After voting, he visited the Rio de Janeiro shanty town where he grew up.