Little Afghan boy soon to meet Messi, says Afghan official

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghan Football Federation plans to set up a meeting between Lionel Messi and 5-year-old Afghan fan Martaza Ahmadi who became an internet sensation when photos circulated of him wearing an improvised Messi shirt made from a plastic bag.

 

Afghan federation spokesman Sayed Ali Kazemi said on Tuesday they hope Messi can come to Afghanistan to visit the boy, but otherwise they will arrange to send him to Spain, where Messi plays with Barcelona, or arrange a meeting in a third country.

 

Pictures of Murtaza Ahmadi playing football near his home in eastern Ghazni province have been widely circulated. They show him wearing the plastic bag — in blue and white stripes like the Argentina national shirt — with Messi 10 written in black marker.