CHENNAI: Lionel Messi's much-awaited 'GOAT Tour to India 2025' will now have Hyderabad as a stop, in a relief to his fans in the south of India.
This comes against the backdrop of the cancellation of Argentina's proposed friendly match in Kochi. State Sports minister V Abdurahiman had announced that the football great would lead the team in a friendly scheduled on November 17. The match got postponed, subject to permissions, which has left fans in disappointment.
Originally, the plan for Messi was to visit Kolkata for meet and greet from December 12 and go to Ahmedabad, before touching down in Mumbai and concluding his visit at New Delhi, where he is set to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is learnt that Ahmedabad will be replaced by Hyderabad, the capital city of Telangana in South India. This way, the tour will cover all four ends of the country. "As (the friendly match in) Kerala is not happening, I thought, ‘why not venture to south’," Satadru Dutta, the organiser of this event, told The New Indian Express. "Telangana are showing lots of excitement in football and other sports. I had some partners there. They were willing to host," he added. As planned for other cities earlier, A meet and greet and the 'GOAT CUP' is planned for Hyderabad. He explained the reason behind choosing Hyderabad, while having options like Kochi, Bengaluru and Chennai. "With Kerala, I was confused on whether Argentina will come there or not. That is why I never approached them," he added.
With Dutta's intentions to bring Messi to the country after more than a decade, the response in social media, it can be said, is overwhelming. It is imperative that the preparations are on point, to avoid unfortunate incidents. "The motto of this tour was to make football more popular in India. A football clinic is also being done for the kids. I know it will not change everything in one day. But these are all small steps which can be atleast influence for the parents,” he further went on to add.
Revised Itinerary: Dec 12-13 (Kolkata): Arrival in the midnight or early hours; Meet and greet at Hotel (9.30'10.40am); GOAT Cup at Salt Lake Stadium (11.30am'1.10pm); Statue unveiling at Sreebhumi, Lake Town; leaves for Hyderabad (2.15pm). Dec 13 (Hyderabad): Meet and greet (5pm); GOAT Cup (7'8.45pm) at either Rajiv Gandhi or Gachibowli Stadiums. Dec 14 (Mumbai): Meet and greet at Hotel (12 noon); Padel GOAT Cup inauguration; GOAT Cup at Wankhede Stadium (5.30pm). Dec 15 (New Delhi): Meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi; GOAT Cup at Arun Jaitley Stadium (2.15pm).
