The God of football, Lionel Messi, is in Kolkata.
And, on the evening of Friday, September 2, when he leads the Argentinean national side against Copa America semi-finalists, Venezuela, in the first FIFA International Friendly to be held in India, at the Yuva Bharati Krirangan, this football crazy city will forget its differences, political or otherwise, for the Messi Magic.
Tight security
The mood was apparent in the wee hours on Wednesday when a few thousand delirious soccer fans turned up at the airport here to catch a glimpse of the Barcelona superstar who was whisked away to a super luxury hotel next to the stadium under tight security cover.
“Including the tickets offered to sponsors and gate sales, we already have 65,000 people inside the stadium. We are hopeful that many more will book their seats in the next two days, to make it a near-packed gallery of over one lakh on Friday,” Mr Bhaswar Goswami, executive director of event manager, Celebrity Management Group (CMG), told
Targeted to gross Rs 20 crore — evenly spread between sales of tickets (Rs 1,000-Rs 5,000 each) — and rights from the Kolkata match, CMG has already sold the TV rights at over Rs 2 crore. “We are expecting to gross at least 70-80 per cent of the targeted revenue. A heavy turnout for tickets in the remaining hours can improve collections,” he added.
In addition to Kolkata, the company also had the organising rights for an identical friendly between Argentina and World Cup regular Nigeria in Dhaka (Bangladesh) on September 6. The rights, however, were sold to the Bangladesh Football Federation.
Important guests
Expectations are that several Chief Ministers of the football crazy North-Eastern and Eastern states will turn up in Kolkata on Friday.
The West Bengal Chief Minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee, who took personal interest in modernising the stadium to international standards, might grace the occasion along with a few Bollywood actors.
To cash in on the event, hotels and restaurants in the city have also made special screening arrangements over dinner.