Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is expected to kick off a friendly football match that Argentine legend Lionel Messi will attend during his visit to Hyderabad on December 13.
Official sources said on Monday that the final details of the event would be confirmed in the coming days.
The match is being planned as part of the Congress government’s celebrations to mark its second anniversary and will be held at the Uppal stadium.
Reddy, an avid football fan and player, is likely to begin the match by kicking the ball.
He practised the game on Sunday night with a group of players. The chief minister had also played a friendly football match with students at the University of Hyderabad last year.
The state government has lined up celebrations from December 1 to 13 to mark the completion of two years in office.
During this period, Reddy will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge to personally invite them to the Telangana Rising Global Summit scheduled on December 8 and 9 at the proposed Bharat Future City, according to an official release.
Reddy has said his government will release the Telangana Rising Vision Document 2047 as part of the anniversary celebrations.
He added on November 28 that he is looking forward to welcoming Messi to the GOAT Tour to India 2025 next month.
The World Cup winning captain will travel to Hyderabad after completing the Kolkata leg, the first stop of his tour.