Argentina soccer star, Lionel Messi has launched a project to build a soccer theme  park in the city of Nanjing in China.

Messi, who is on a four-day visit to China, announced that the project will feature his personal training programmes and exhibit his personal items.

Aimed at promoting soccer culture in an interactive way, the centre, which will be commissioned in November 2018, will also provide Messi-inspired training and entertainment activities and display career highlights which are all aimed at providing Chinese youths the rare opportunity of staying connected with him.

“I hope to provide them the experience they never had before and to inspire them to pick up the sport early on. Hopefully, they will feel that I am around when visiting the park,” the Barcelona FC playmaker said.

According to Phoenix U-Art, Messi’s Chinese partner in the project, the park will reshape the thinking of young Chinese fans of Messi and enable them learn from him despite the great geographical distances.

“The project will reshape the way fans can connect with Messi and will enable soccer culture to deepen its roots in China by combining  Messi’s career experience, his training programme and entertainment,” said Liu Wei, the CEO of Phoenix U-Art.