‘Real’ goal of Messi’s visit was to rake in $20 million

The real goal of bringing Lionel Messi to India as part of his GOAT tour and touching Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad, is apparently aimed at raking in up to Rs 181 crore. All earnings from ticket sales and revenue from brand space go to the Kolkata organizers and to any state government. Hope this fund will be properly utilised to help football clubs that are starved for finances. The windfall can also be used for developing infrastructure for sports to make a meaningful use of the funds that have been generated. Meanwhile, the sports ministry can bolster their revenue from crowdsourcing by asking every citizen to regularly donate at least one rupee that can help raise a mindboggling Rs 143 crore each time. There won’t be any need to bring in international celebrities and pay them hefty money.

Sreelekha P S,Secunderabad-61

India’s organisational acumen takes a beating

Thechaos at Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata during Lionel Messi’s visit exposes numerous deficiencies of the organisers. In a state with millions of football enthusiasts, the event planners should have conceptualised all aspects of the programme with foresight and pragmatism. To deprive the masses of getting to see their idol just to accommodate hundreds of VIPs has obviously led to the vandalism one saw and cancellation of an eagerly awaited scheduled programme. Such mistakes will dent the country’s reputation that is inching towards achieving a developed country status.

M N Saraswathi Devi,Secunderabad-10

Mamata’s ‘probe’ will be a non-starter

Apropos ‘A messy affair!’ (THI Dec 14). Football icon Lionel Messi’s appearance at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium ended as a damp squib. VIPs, celebrities and security personnel cordoned him off, leaving large numbers of his fans disappointed. They vented their ire by vandalising the stadium by breaking chairs, fences, throwing bottles, and starting fires. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s’high-level enquiry is fated for the deep freezer, enabling those responsible to get away scot-free. The shameful incident has shown the entire nation in an extremely poor light.

Dr George Jacob,Kochi

Messi weaves magic in Hyd

Likea storm that sweeps across the city, Lionel Messi’s visit to Hyderabad left a lasting impact on football fans. The exhibition match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium was like a dream come true for enthusiasts, who cheered and chanted his name like a chorus. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s goal was like icing on the cake, adding to the excitement of the event. The stadium was electric, with fans packed like sardines, all eager to catch a glimpse of the football legend. Overall, it was a fantastic experience for football fans in Hyderabad.

Kolluru. Raju,Kakinada

Shed bias for VVIPs in sports events

The unruly incident at the Salt Lake stadium where fans, who spent up to Rs 10, 000, failed to catch a glimpse of Lionel Messi during a much-hyped event owing to the mismanagement of the event and highhanded behaviour of the VVIPs, was indeed messy all through his stay. State Governor C V Anand Bose also could not enter the stadium. In an impromptu press conference at the very place, he condemned the government for deliberately insulting him.

K V Raghuram,Wayanad

Hyd saves the day

Itis very sad that the much-hyped tour of Lionel Messi turned messy at Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Saturday. As part of the UNICEF ambassador’s four-leg tour, the global icon was to showcase his famed football skills in friendly matches against politicians and others. The ruckus in West Bengal was such that even Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee could not reach the stadium to felicitate the legend. The Salt Lake Stadium incident once again brought the issue of crowd mismanagement to the forefront. In fact, it was a great relief to the public and the Telangana government as Messi’s match at Hyderabad ended without any untoward incident.

Pratapa Reddy Yaramala, Tiruvuru (AP)