Messi fans excited to see him play in Jamaica

Excitement is building in downtown Kingston as Lionel Messi fans, led by Kadeen 'Guzzu Boss' Richards, gear up for the possible arrival of the football icon in March.

The buzz surrounding the impending showdown between local giants Cavalier FC and Messi's Inter Miami team in the CONCACAF Champions Cup has sent diehard supporters into a frenzy. And they're not taking this lightly.

"If the match is 7 p.m., mi a be there from 12 because mi haffi meet him! Oh God, maybe mi all faint, but mi have to meet him!" Richards told THE STAR. For Richards and many others, seeing Messi grace Jamaican soil would be nothing short of history in the making.

"[National] Stadium a go full like neva before fi the first inna history. See all the Brazil people dem weh a rub we out -- even them a go deh a stadium," she declared. Both teams are scheduled to meet in a two-leg clash, the first on March 6 in Miami, with the return leg set for March 13 in Jamaica. Inter Miami was confirmed as Cavalier's opponent in the round of 16 on Tuesday night, after a 3-1 victory over fellow Major League Soccer team Sporting Kansas City; Inter Miami advanced 4-1 on aggregate. Messi was on the scoresheet. Fans like Richards already have circled the March dates on their calendars, but the dream isn't just about seeing Messi on the sidelines -- it's about seeing him play.

"If him come a Jamaica, him is going to want to play. Even if a just one half him play, as long as him touch the field, me good. Fi see my 'baller, a legend like Messi, play pon Jamaican soil would be history," she said.

Richards is so sure of this that she's already speaking it into existence.

"Tek it from me, the Guzzu Boss, it a go work out. Messi a go come a Jamaica, and him a go touch the field just fi we."

But while excitement brews, persons have shared concerns about the readiness of the National Stadium, which is expected to host the game. Sports enthusiast Michael Blake raised concerns about the state of the venue, questioning whether it's equipped to host a footballer of Messi's calibre.

"In my opinion, even though the chance of Messi playing in Jamaica is exciting and some dreams are going to be fulfilled in terms of Jamaicans getting to see him play live, and the players of Cavalier FC getting to share the field with him, the facility will most likely be the worst one he's ever been to," Blake said.

Blake pointed to the stadium's condition during recent events as evidence.

"I was watching the Gibson [McCook] Relays this past weekend, and the field does not look like a professional-standard football field. We have to bear in mind, concerts are kept on this pitch; and field events such as javelin, shot put, discus throwing, and hammer throws," he said. Blake also recalled that last July, Jamaica's match against the Dominican Republic had to be pushed back as the lighting was inadequate for a night game.

"So there are many drawbacks to the facilities. The best part of the facility might be the changing room, and that's still a massive dip in the quality of changing rooms he's been in across the world of football."