Last month, a photo of a little boy wearing a Lionel Messi Argentina football jersey made out of a blue and white striped plastic bag went viral around the world. The photo only showed his back, and so a campaign kicked off in earnest to find the child.
When the boy’s brother got in touch with a Swedish football fan, the trail grew warmer – and eventually Buzzfeed News says it was put in touch with the Ahmadi family who live in a remote village in Afghanistan – and the boy Murtaza Ahmadi, 5, was found.
Murtaza’s father explained that he couldn’t afford to get him a real jersey, so Murtaza's older brother Hamayon helped make him the plastic bag version.
“He kept crying for days asking for the shirt until his brother Hamayon helped him make one from the plastic bag to make him happy,” Murtaza's father, Arif, told CNN. “He stopped crying after wearing that plastic bag shirt.”
And now, amazingly, the Afghan Football Federation has confirmed that Messi wants to meet Murtaza, and there are plans in the works to fly the boy to Spain to meet his idol.
“I love Messi, he plays well, the shirt was made by my brother and I liked it very much,” Murtaza is quoted as saying. “We do not have a football playground near our house, and the only ball I have is punctured. I want to be like Messi, when I grow up.”
We are over the moon for Murtaza (and what a fantastic brother he has right?) and can’t wait to watch this story progress – hopefully all the way to the pitch in Camp Nou, Barcelona.
