Argentina football star Lionel Messi's much-anticipated visit to India, as part of what's billed as his "GOAT (greatest of all time) Tour," has generated great excitement.

Messi, who just won Major League Soccer's Most Valuable Player award for the second season in a row, last visited India in 2011, when Argentina faced Venezuela in an international friendly in Kolkata, India's footballing heartland.

After kicking off his four-city visit in Kolkata on Saturday, Messi is scheduled to visit the southern city of Hyderabad and Mumbai before concluding the tour in New Delhi on Monday, where the 2022 World Cup winner is to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Among the highlights of his stop in Kolkata, Messi is to inaugurate the world's largest statue of himself, a towering 70-foot (21.3 meter) behemoth.

He will also be accompanied by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan as well as former India cricket captain and current Cricket Association of Bengal President Sourav Ganguly during a three-hour event at Kolkata's main stadium, which is to include a 7-on-7 celebrity match and coaching clinics for selected young talents.

Football's deep, although regional roots

While cricket continues to be India's dominant sport, football also has deep roots in the country, especially in states like West Bengal, where Kolkata clubs Mohun Bagan and East Bengal command passionate fan bases.

Arjun Sen, a fan who has followed the game for 30 years, has taken leave from work to attend Saturday's event.

"I have already arranged leave for the day and plan to reach the stadium hours early. This is something we have only dreamed of. But seeing Messi in person is going to be unforgettable for everyone here," Sen told DW.

Priya Das, an amateur football coach, told DW of the excitement his young players are feeling.

"They are talking nonstop about Messi's visit and hoping to attend the clinics. It is not every day that football legends come to India, and it makes football feel more alive for us."

Initiating positive change

Satadru Dutta, the architect behind Messi's visit, said it's not just a spectacle, it's about growing the game in the country.

"He is a world champion. If I can get conversations going on reviving football, I think that is a big start. Football will not change with Messi's coming, but there can be small steps which can be initiated," Dutta told DW.

Dutta also spoke about another of his ventures, "Edu Soccer," a grassroots initiative. The project, which is to be launched by Messi, involves taking a group of 10-12 children and giving them professional football training over a period of 15 years.

However, the self-described "businessman, crazy about football" declined to disclose how much money Messi will earn from his Indian sojourn or the amount of revenue expected to be generated through sponsorships, VIP packages, broadcasting rights and merchandise.

"That is classified. Messi is priceless and it will stay that way," he said.

Challenges holding the game back

India is 142nd in the FIFA men's rankings — 27th among Asia's 46 nation. This is despite the fact that it is the world's most populous nation and possesses a passionate football base in pockets like Kolkata, Kerala and the Northeast region.

The country has never qualified for a World Cup, and its domestic leagues struggle with inconsistent attendance, limited infrastructure and negligible international visibility.

Moreover, the Indian Super League (ISL) faces severe financial and operational challenges, exacerbated by the All-India Football Federation's (AIFF) recent failure to secure a new commercial rights partner, leading multiple clubs to suspend operations.

Shaji Prabhakaran, a former AIFF general secretary, agrees that while Messi's visit will not transform Indian football, it can act as a catalyst that forces stakeholders to create lasting value.

"The timing is appropriate because Indian football is facing a difficult phase, and the visit can put Indian football firmly in the spotlight, prompting discussions among politicians, industrialists and football bodies," Prabhakaran, who is acting as chief adviser for Messi's GOAT tour, told DW.

"If this trip can heighten national focus on football rather than treating it as a one‑off celebrity appearance, it can help."

More commercial than transformative?

The tour undeniably carries significant commercial dimensions. Ticket prices range from approximately 4,500 rupees (€43/$50) to 11,800 rupees depending on city and seating category, with Mumbai tickets starting at 8,250 rupees.

Premium hospitality packages command substantially higher prices, though exact figures for VIP experiences have not been publicly disclosed.

Bollywood stars are expected to attend the event at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and participate in a philanthropic fashion show alongside Messi, Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul, who are also to attend.

A senior AIFF official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told DW that the event was "a lucrative pit stop on a branded world tour that will leave Indian football exactly where it was, starstruck but still starving."

Arup Das of the India Youth Soccer Association (IYSA) wondered aloud whether this moment will translate into anything lasting for Indian football or simply fade like previous high-profile visits.

"The Messi visit feels like another superstar comet that does a flyby of India especially at a time when Indian football is in a dark uncertainty. The ISL is without a commercial partner and shows no sign of starting anytime soon," Das told DW.

The IYSA is an NGO established in 2000 supporting children playing football in rural areas where there has been a boom in small academies in the last decade. It says that so far it has reached over 5,000 children and coaches in more than 50 villages and small towns in northern India.

'Inspiration is not infrastructure'

"Messi is not going to the football-passionate parts of India like Kerala, Goa, and the Northeast, with the exception of Kolkata, but instead to Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai which are no longer centers of football and these events are in cricket stadiums, which just goes to show how neglected our football stadium infrastructure is," Das added.

Jaydeep Basu, a former director of communication and media at AIFF, hopes football's administrators will leverage Messi's visit for investment in sustainable football infrastructure.

"Inspiration matters in sports development. Seeing Messi can ignite passion in young players who might otherwise never pursue football seriously. But inspiration without infrastructure is merely sentiment, not change," Basu underlined.

Edited by: Chuck Penfold