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Published Dec 03, 2025 | 9:04 AM ⚊ Updated Dec 03, 2025 | 9:04 AM
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy practicing football.
Hyderabad’s political landscape has seen many competitive duels, but nothing quite like the one Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is preparing for. He has taken to the football field with a seriousness usually reserved for stormy assembly sessions, all because he is set to face Lionel Messi on 13 December at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, during the superstar’s “GOAT Tour 2025.”
A footballer himself, Revanth Reddy has now added a new item to his daily schedule: 45 minutes of football training, squeezed neatly between governance and ground passes.
On the night of Sunday, 30 November, after a full day of official engagements, Revanth Reddy hit the turf under floodlights, playing with a group of young local players who seemed thrilled — and mildly amused — to see their chief minister sprinting on the pitch instead of across Secretariat corridors.
The chief minister’s football practice was described as an “energetic session,” which is a diplomatic shorthand for saying he took the practice very seriously. Reddy will captain the ‘Revanth Reddy 9’ (RR9) team, wearing jersey number 9, while Messi leads Team LM10 in his world-famous number 10.
Selected players from government schools are likely to feature alongside the chief minister — making RR9 the only team in the world where a chief minister and school students are all part of one team.
Naturally, the city is buzzing. Hyderabad’s football fans are counting down the days, hoping to witness not just Messi’s magic but also their chief minister’s footwork, which, according to those who watched the practice, isn’t too shabby for someone whose usual playing field is electoral politics.
Revanth Reddy himself is treating the event as more than a sporting cameo. On X, he called Messi’s visit an “exciting moment” for Hyderabad and said the city is ready to host him “with warmth, pride and the spirit that defines our people.”
However, the football match is only part of the story. The state government is planning to invite Messi to be the global brand ambassador for its “Telangana Rising” initiative, a centrepiece of the government’s Vision 2047 strategy. The friendly game will also mark the culmination of the Congress government’s two-year celebrations and precede the Telangana Rising 2047 Global Summit on 8–9 December.
Using football as bait, Revanth Reddy is making Messi fly down to Hyderabad and help the state prosper with his image. In short, Revanth Reddy is preparing to kick Telangana’s brand onto the global stage. And if his Sunday practice session is any indication, the kick is likely to be strong and solid.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
