Thousands of fans poured into Brazilian streets on Monday morning to pay their respects to Pele -- as the funeral for the late soccer legend got underway at a famed football stadium in Santos.
People decked out in #10 jerseys and clad in yellow and green attire lined up to get a glimpse of the former footballer's coffin at Urbano Caldeira Stadium ... and some camped out for hours to be the first allowed into the ceremony.
For the services, Pele's body was placed under a tent on the field at the venue -- the same place where he scored hundreds of goals for Santos FC for nearly two decades.
Early on, Pele's family members were seen standing by his casket -- hugging and kissing him.
Many soccer stars from across the globe are expected to attend the funeral later on.
The whole ceremony is being live streamed ... and is expected to last several hours before Pele is laid to rest at the Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica cemetery.
As we reported, Pele died at a hospital in Sao Paolo on Thursday ... after a lengthy battle with cancer.
He was 82 years old.