Football superstar Lionel Messi’s visit to Hong Kong draws fans from across region
- Causeway Bay shopping hub awash in pink as fans stream in to Hong Kong Stadium to watch open practice session
- “It’s a huge opportunity since Messi … might retire in some years,” says fan Phaidon Dalakakis
A much-anticipated visit by football superstar Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami team has drawn tourists from mainland China and the region to Hong Kong for a glimpse of the legend in person.
The city’s Causeway Bay shopping hub, where Hong Kong Stadium is located, was awash in pink as fans streamed in for an open practice session on Saturday.
Fans draped in pinkish Inter Miami jerseys and the Argentina white-and-blue stripe jerseys started filing into the stadium as early as an hour before doors opened at 2.30pm, when police began to cordon off roads in the area to control the crowds.
The Argentinian World Cup winner and his Inter Miami team arrived in Hong Kong on Friday for the weekend friendly match with a local team, which authorities hoped would further raise the profile of the city.
Kiratchapat Sirisareewattang, 17, said her family, all decked out in Inter Miami jerseys, came from Thailand to see the football star.
“My mother has followed Messi for … years,” she said. “This is her first time seeing him.”
But they would not stay for the match on Sunday as they had to catch a flight home, she lamented.