NEW DELHI/HYDERABAD: Football icon Lionel Messi’s highly anticipated ‘GOAT Tour to India 2025’ is set to become a pan-India spectacle, with Hyderabad officially added as the new Southern stop. This decision follows the cancellation of the proposed Argentina friendly match that was initially scheduled for Kochi, Kerala, on November 17.
The addition of Hyderabad ensures that fans across South India will not be “deprived” of seeing their idol, said Satadru Dutta, the sole organiser of the GOAT Tour. The revised itinerary will now cover all four corners of the country: East (Kolkata), South (Hyderabad), West (Mumbai), and North (New Delhi).
”Now we are covering south also. This will be a tribute to millions of football fans in South India,” Dutta confirmed, noting that Hyderabad was the natural choice due to its central location and huge football fan base. The event in Hyderabad is expected to be held on December 13, 2025, at either the Gachibowli or Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
The Hyderabad leg is envisioned as an “extension of the GOAT Cup,” a grand celebration featuring a celebrity football match, a football clinic, a felicitation ceremony, and a musical programme, with several South Indian film stars expected to be in attendance.
The overall tour, which marks Messi’s return to India after 14 years, will kick off in Kolkata on December 13, followed by Hyderabad the same evening, before moving to Mumbai on December 14, and concluding in New Delhi on December 15, where he is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The tour will also feature other football stars, including Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul.
