Hyderabad: Telangana deputy chief minister Bhattii Vikramarka on Sunday, December 7, inspected the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad ahead of football icon Lionel Messi’s friendly match on December 13.
Addressing the media after the inspection, Vikramarka said, “Today we want to tell the football lovers that the Telangana government is hosting a friendly football match featuring Lionel Messi at the Uppal stadium. The match is being held as part of the Telangana Rising Summit.”
Vikramarka was accompanied by Telangana IT Minister D Sridhar Babu, Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) in-charge president Daljeet Singh, and others. The friendly match will be held between chief minister Revanth Reddy’s team RR 9 and Lionel Messi’s LM 10.
The Argentine football star is coming to Hyderabad as part of his “G.O.A T. India Tour’25”. Team RR9 will comprise the chief minister and selected students from government schools who have shown exceptional football talent. The event is designed to be once in a lifetime opportunity for these emerging athletes.
Messi’s visit is more than just a sporting spectacle; it is strategically positioned as a cornerstone event for the state’s ambitious agenda. The exhibition match will serve as the culmination of the Telangana government‘s second anniversary celebrations from December 1 – December 13, and specifically, the grand unveiling of the Telangana Rising Vision Document 2047 on December 9.
The state government aims to leverage Messi’s popularity for Telangana’s global image.
The GOAT India tour marks Messi’s first visit to India since 2011. Initially, the India tour was set for Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi, but organisers surprised fans by adding Hyderabad as a special stop. Ahmedabad and Kerala were earlier under consideration, but cancellations opened a window, and Hyderabad grabbed the opportunity.
