The children of football icon Diego Maradona have unveiled plans for a foundation dedicated to preserving the Argentine legend's legacy, featuring a memorial site in the heart of Buenos Aires.
The “M10 Memorial,” set to open in 2025 in the vibrant Puerto Madero area, aims to welcome up to one million visitors annually, according to its official website.
“We want our father to remain close to the love of the people and fulfill the wishes of those who want to honor him with a flower,” his daughter Dalma Maradona said during a YouTube presentation on Thursday.
Access to the 1,000-square-meter site will be free for Argentines. However, those who make a donation to the Maradona Foundation will have the opportunity to display their photo on a "heritage wall" at the memorial.
Dalma added that the foundation – chaired by her and four of Maradona's children from other relationships – arose from a desire to “pay tribute to him and preserve his legacy.”
Earlier this month, a court authorized the transfer of Maradona's remains from a cemetery to a mausoleum for this future memorial site so that locals and tourists could visit “Argentina's great idol.”
Maradona died in November 2020 at age 60 while recovering from brain surgery for a blood clot, following decades of battling cocaine and alcohol addictions.
He was found dead in bed two weeks after surgery in a rented house in an exclusive Buenos Aires neighborhood, where he was taken after being discharged from the hospital.
He was determined to have died of a heart attack, but a court is investigating whether possible negligence by Maradona's medical team may have contributed to his death.
