The competition will be held in the Brazilian capital between July 13 and 29, and Maia is confident the 41-year-old's presence would raise public interest in the quadrennial event.

Maia believes the tournament would be the perfect stage for Romario to score his historic 1,000th career goal.

"It would be marvellous to see Romario scoring that goal in this competition," he said.

The Pan American Sports Organisation's rules state that the football tournament must be contested in the main by players under 20, although each team is permitted to call-up a maximum of three players over that age.