Rahul Gandhi to attend friendly football match between Messi, Revanth Reddy in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Waves OTT, Prasar Bharati’s streaming platform, has announced live and free coverage of Lionel Messi’s “GOAT India Tour” across Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi. However, the Hyderabad leg does not feature in the platform’s stated livestream schedule, triggering a political row in Telangana.

Leaders from opposition parties, speaking to NewsDrum, alleged the omission is linked to the Hyderabad programme’s political optics. They claimed the event is expected to include an on-field moment involving Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Messi, while Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi is also scheduled to attend.

The allegations follow inputs from Telangana Congress sources that Gandhi will be present at the programme at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium on Saturday evening.

According to the sources, a short friendly match is planned between two teams—Singareni RR9 and Aparna-Messi All Stars. The sources said a brief football segment is also expected shortly before the match, involving the chief minister and Messi.

The sources further said Gandhi is expected to arrive in Hyderabad in the late afternoon and proceed to a hotel where Messi is scheduled to stay, before heading to the stadium. Gandhi is expected to leave for New Delhi later in the night.

Opposition leaders alleged that a government-run platform may have chosen to avoid carrying a live feed from Hyderabad because the visuals would include both the Telangana chief minister and Rahul Gandhi at the same event.

Elaborate security arrangements have been put in place for the programme. Rachakonda Police Commissioner Sudheer Babu has said 3,000 personnel will be deployed for the event.

Prasar Bharati and Waves OTT have not issued any official statement on why Hyderabad is missing from the announced live coverage plan, or whether a separate broadcast arrangement exists for the city. Waves’ promotional communication, as circulated, lists only Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi as the live-streamed stops between December 13 and 15.