Watch this 1.5 minute video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6wA9qmgcwE
Afghanistan:
It might not come as a surprise that soccer legend- Lionel Messi has a fan, who dreams someday to be like the legendd and step into his shoes.
This fan is a 5 years old Afghani boy, Murtaza Ahmadi. According to Voice of America which covered this story, Murtaza came into attention in January this year when he was spotted wearing a plastic bag as an improvised Argentinian jersey with Messi's jersey number at the back. This caught the attention of Messi and he sent autographed jerseys to the boy in Afghanistan via UNICEF.
All the attention and spotlight the boy received helped him to move to Kabul from his small village where he was able to practice his soccer skills. But soon after his move to Kabul, many threatening calls started coming in. These calls were by the Taliban and other criminal gangs who asked for ransom. According to Murtaza's Father, it became difficult for them to live in such a state of fear and hence they decided to flee from the city and are presently living in Quetta in Pakistan. Mohammed Arif Ahmadi, the father of the five-year-old also informed the correspondent that it is a very unsettled condition that they are living in, owing to the financial difficulties and the legal issues surrounding their stay at the present location.
The UN, on the other hand, has extended a hand to support the boy's family to get registered with the Pakistani embassy as the legal refugees at the place and has been helping the family to settle in the new environment. But these hurdles have not stopped the boy from practicing soccer. As per his father, Murtaza continues to practice soccer with his uncle occasionally, whenever they have a family time.
With so many difficulties surrounding him and his family, Murtaza's confidence holds a powerful will that he will make it big as a Football Legend, someday in the future.(VOA)