On Friday morning, legendary Argentine footballer Lionel Messi shared a screenshot of the Armenian TUMO Center for Creative Technologies on his Instagram Stories, tagging @tumocenter and thereby introducing it to his audience of 505 million followers. This was reported by Zartonk Media.
The gesture marked one of the most high-profile international recognitions for TUMO — an innovative educational center that offers teenagers free training in animation, programming, robotics, and design.
Messi’s post came six months after his brother, Rodrigo Messi, visited TUMO’s Yerevan headquarters during the WCIT 2024 / DigiTec conference. Rodrigo, the Executive Director of Lionel Messi Management and a special advisor to the Play Time Ventures foundation, called TUMO a “catalyst for change” and expressed admiration for the center’s educational model.
Брат Лионеля Месси, Родриго, В Армении.
Rodrigo was accompanied by Armenian-American entrepreneur Razmig Hovaghimian, founder of Play Time — Messi’s main sports-tech investment initiative.
At the end of his visit in the fall of 2024, Rodrigo Messi gifted TUMO an Argentina national team jersey signed by Lionel. Now, six months later, Lionel himself returns the gesture — this time through global social media.