Kerala Sports Minister V. Abdurahiman has reaffirmed that the Argentina national football team, led by Lionel Messi, is set to visit India later this year dispelling speculation surrounding the event’s cancellation. Argentina will be playing a friendly match in Kerala during its visit.
Addressing the media last week, the minister said that the friendly match is most likely to take place in the October-November window, which aligns with FIFA’s official schedule for international friendlies. The minister said that the Argentina national team will be accorded a welcome of a state guest, with the Kerala government taking full responsibility for their accommodation, security, and other logistics.
His statement comes months after reports surfaced claiming that the Argentina team’s visit had been cancelled due to a breach of contract by the event sponsor. Both Minister Abdurahiman and the event sponsor, Reporter Broadcasting Company, had previously denied those claims and reiterated their commitment to bringing the reigning world champions to Kerala.
The minister also mentioned about Messi’s visit to India in his Facebook post
“Messi will come.”, the post read.
He also expressed his gratitude to Reporter Broadcasting Company for their continued efforts and confirmed that the match fee had now been paid.
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“There was a delay in the payment by the sponsor, but that issue has been resolved. According to the agreement, once the payment is confirmed, the Argentina Football Association (AFA) will coordinate with the sponsor to finalize the date and make a joint announcement,” Abdurahiman added.
He clarified that the Kerala government is not involved in the financial aspects of the deal, as the contract exists solely between the sponsor and the AFA. “The sponsor informed us that the payment has been completed. We now await confirmation from the Argentina team’s management,” he said.
The friendly match is expected to be held at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.
Abdurahiman emphasized that the state government’s primary objective is to reignite enthusiasm for sports in Kerala by hosting such a historic event. “Bringing the world champions here is a way to inspire a new generation and boost the sports culture in the state,” he said.
Argentina’s friendly match in India follows a series a other friendly matches played in the country in the past few months. In March, legendary players of Brazil’s legendary 2002 FIFA World Cup-winning squad played a friendly match against Indian All Stars at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai. That game was followed by El Clasico ‘Legends Faceoff’ match at the Dr DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
Messi’s second visit to India
Should Messi’s visit to India this year materialise, it will be the second time that he would have come to the country. The last time he came to India was in in September 2011 for a friendly game between Argentina and Venezuela. That game was played at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium and Argentina beat Venezuela 1-0 in the fixture.
Prakhar Sachdeo
The Sportz Planet Desk
