Messi to build theme park in Nanjing

Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi brought Chinese kids a unique Children's Day gift by launching a project to build a soccer theme park that would feature his personal training program in China.

To the delight of hundreds of fans waving his posters while chanting his name, Messi, who is on a four-day China visit, announced in Beijing on Thursday that Messi Experience Park, an innovative venue exhibiting his personal items and demonstrating his training regimes, will be established in November 2018 in Nanjing with support from local and international partners.

Aimed at promoting soccer culture in an interactive way, the park would provide Messi-inspired training and entertainment activities, including displays of his career highlights, a small personal museum and immersive training clinics enhanced by virtual reality and augmented reality technologies, according to Phoenix U-Art, Messi's Chinese partner.