Barcelona star Lionel Messi is hoping to arrange a meeting with an Afghan boy who shot to fame after pictures of him dressed in a striped plastic bag jersey went viral, Kabul's football federation said on Monday.
Five-year-old Murtaza Ahmadi idolises the Argentine soccer star but a jersey of his favourite player is beyond the means of his poor family in the volatile province of Ghazni near Kabul.
Unable to get a real Messi shirt, Murtaza's brother had rigged him up a plastic bag in the light blue and white colours of the Argentinian national team, with 'Messi' and the number '10' written on it in marker pen.
The pictures were shared around the world and the Afghan Football Federation (AFF) said on its website on Monday it was in contact with representatives of Messi and would arrange for Murtaza to meet the player soon.
According to AFP, Jorge Messi, Lionel's father said on Saturday that the footballer was aware of the photos that made waves on social media and "wants to do something" for his young fan.
The AFF said on Monday that Messi was keen to meet Murtaza as soon as possible, though no date or venue has so far been finalised.
"Messi has been in communication with the federation to set up a meeting with the young boy," AFF spokesman Sayed Ali Kazemi said.
"We are working to see whether Messi will come to Afghanistan or the five-year-old will travel to Spain or they will meet in a third country."
There was no immediate comment from FC Barcelona.
Setting up a meeting in Afghanistan, in the grip of a fierce Taliban insurgency, is fraught with security challenges.
The Spanish embassy in Kabul told AFP it would do whatever possible to facilitate a meeting in a European destination.
Murtaza's father, a poor farmer in Ghazni's Jaghori district, admitted he could not afford to buy him a replica jersey, adding that Murtaza only had a punctured ball to play with.
Photos of the boy wearing the improvised Messi jersey -- made from grocery bags discarded by their neighbour -- has touched a chord with football fans around the world.
Sport was rarely played under Taliban rule, and the football stadium in Kabul was a notorious venue for executions, stonings and mutilations.
Football and cricket are the two most popular sports in the war-ravaged country.
