Messi to play in Kerala ultimately in November!
The uncertainty seems to be over. The Lionel Messi-led Argentine national team is coming to Kerala to take part in a friendly match in November this year! The friendly match is likely to take place during FIFA’s November-window, between 10th and 18th November. This visit will mark the first time an Argentine side will be playing in Kerala. The official confirmation came through the team’s social media handles earlier today. The opponents for the fixtures are yet to be announced. “The Argentine national team, led by Lionel Scaloni, will have two FIFA friendly matches in the remainder of 2025. The first, in October, from the 6th to the 14th, will be played in the United States (opponents and cities to be determined). The second, a FIFA friendly in November, from the 10th to the 18th, will be played in Luanda, Angola, and Kerala, India (opponents to be determined),” the statement read. Kerala Sports Minister V. Abdurahiman first revealed that the Argentine national team, led by Messi would be taking part in a friendly match this year. But the much-awaited trip got a big blow following disagreements between the Kerala government, event sponsors, and the Argentine Football Association (AFA). Doubts were created over whether the friendly would actually go ahead. At one point, Kerala’s Sports Minister announced that the Argentine national team’s Kerala-tour would be cancelled. Then, Reporting Broadcasting, the commercial partner of the Kerala state sports ministry, warned of legal action against the AFA. However, the situation now seems to have been resolved, and Argentina are set to play in India later this year. This will be the reigning world champions’ second visit to the country. Their first appearance came in 2011, when Lionel Messi led the side in a friendly against Venezuela at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium.
Despite the uncertainty, Kerala Sports Ministry’s effort to organize the Messi-match
Sudeep Pakrashi: Due to failure to arrange the appearance fees for Argentina’s World Cup-winning team including the captain Lionel Messi, the chances of organizing the two scheduled friendly matches in Kerala are slim. Still, Kerala’s sports ministry is making an effort to accumulate the funds to organize the match. The matches were scheduled to be held in October this year. According to reports from local newspapers, the organizers have failed to raise the minimum Rs 100 crore required to arrange the matches. Rs 70 crore was reportedly needed just as the appearance fee for the Argentina team. HSBC India, which associated itself with Argentina football team to promote the sport in India and Singapore, had also announced that the team would visit to India in October this year. The statement gave more strength to the hopes that Messi will finally be coming to India. But the bank has now stopped commenting on the issue. But according to Kerala Sports Ministry, efforts are still on to find out new corporate houses who can come forward with the needed financial investment to organize the match as the Sports Ministry is keen about the match to be happened in the state for the promotion of the game. In that case, the matches can be rescheduled sometime in 2026, after the Fifa World Cup to be held in June-July. Meanwhile, the Kerala Super League this year, scheduled to kick off at the end of August, also looks uncertain as two teams seem unwilling to make the investment and build up their respective teams so far due to their financial difficulties. It is believed the franchises were disappointed following the organizer’s failure to fulfill the financial commitment to the participating franchises after the inaugural edition of the league. It is learned that among the two teams unwilling to continue so far, one is the Kannur Warriors. According to sources close to the organizers, the top brass of the other participating teams is also waiting for the final status of Anil Kumar in the All India Football Federation (AIFF). Kumar, the secretary of Kerala Football Association (KFA), was the key man behind the introduction of KSL last year, and the Supreme Court has imposed a stay-order on his appointment as the Secretary General of the AIFF.
