KOZHIKODE: Surprised by the overwhelming response in Kerala to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the football’s world governing body has tweeted a photograph of the giant cut-outs of international footballers raised in a river in Kozhikode.
Huge cut-outs of Argentina star Lionel Messi raised in the middle of Kurungattu Kadavu river in Kozhikode district had first garnered attention online. Cut-outs of Brazilian football icon Neymar and Portuguese captain Cristiano Ronaldo came up later.
On Tuesday, FIFA, tweeted a photograph of the Kurungattu Kadavu river with the cut-outs of three football legends from around the world from its official twitter account. “FIFA World cup fever has hit Kerala, giant cut-outs of Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi popped up on a local river ahead of the tournament,” the tweet said.
It was on October 31 that the image was first posted in social media by a group of Argentina fans from Chathamangalam panchayat. It went viral in a short span of time. It eventually provoked the Brazilian fans in the panchayat and soon similar cut-outs of Neymar and Ronaldo appeared next to Messi.
Several fans from across the world and some footballers shared the image.hmed A K, member of a Messi fan club in Kozhikode, said: “All this started with a cutout of Messi and we are extremely happy that the news went worldwide.”
“FIFA mentioning us on their official social media platforms is indeed an honour. Our efforts to raise these cut-outs are purely because of our love for the sport and the legendary players who put up a great show,” he added.