After months of back-and-forth discussions, the decks have been cleared for Lionel Messi’s Albiceleste to arrive for a friendly match in Kerala this November, with the Argentina Football Association (AFA) confirming the trip on Saturday.
“The Argentine national team, led by Lionel Scaloni, will have two FIFA friendlies 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 friendlies in November, from the 10th to the 18th, will be played in Luanda, Angola, and Kerala, India (opponents to be determined),” the AFA said in their official statement.
Trip in gratitude for 2022 WC support
The initial steps for Argentina’s landmark trip to the southern state of India was spurred on by the overwhelming support the team received in Qatar in 2022 from Malayali fans during Messi and Co.’s run to the World Cup title for the first time since 1986. Besides specifying subcontinent neighbours Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan in an X post, Argentina also specified Kerala’s support.
“Thank you Bangladesh. Thank you Kerala, India, Pakistan. Your support was wonderful!” read an AFA post on X in December 2022.
Thank you Bangladesh 🤩
Thank you Kerala, India, Pakistan. Your support was wonderful! https://t.co/GvKwUP2hwJ— 🇦🇷 Selección Argentina ⭐⭐⭐ (@Argentina) December 19, 2022
In November 2024, Kerala Sports Minister V. Abdurahiman announced Argentina’s decision to travel to the state as an appreciative gesture. “The love and support from Kerala’s football fans have been remarkable, and the Argentine team is eager to connect with them,” the minister shared in a Facebook post.
Facing monumental costs of the visit, the Kerala government ventured out for corporate sponsors. Reporter Broadcasting Company Private Limited stepped up, signing a deal with the Argentine Football Association (AFA) on December 20, 2024, to facilitate the event.
Recent twists and turns
However, the Argentina-in-Kerala saga had taken a fresh turn a fortnight ago when Leandro Petersen, the AFA’s Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer, reportedly accused the Kerala government of breaching the agreement for the proposed visit of Messi and Argentina. The remarks were dismissed by Abdurahiman, with the Kerala sports minister calling Petersen merely a marketing executive of the AFA who had no command over the agreement of the trip.
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“Petersen is an important official of the AFA, but only in marketing. The agreement was signed by the AFA president. The sponsor later told us they could not come in the October–November window. They said they might come before 2026, before the next World Cup. But there is no guarantee this government or sports minister will still be in office then, and the sponsor was not interested in that scenario,” Abdurahiman told reporters.
Argentina in Kerala: Match Date and schedule
While it has yet to be confirmed whether the 38-year-old Messi will board the flight to Kerala, Argentina are slated to play two friendlies in the November window. The fixture in Kerala will be played at the Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, reports confirmed on Saturday.
Messi’s Kolkata trip
Last week, the Indian Express reported that Messi will also travel to India in a stand-alone trip in December 2025. He is set to kick off his four-city tour in Kolkata on December 12. From Kolkata he will be in Ahmedabad, Mumbai and New Delhi.
The visit this year won’t be Messi’s first trip to India. That was made in 2011, when he played a friendly against Venezuela at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. That also happened to be Messi’s first match as Argentina captain.
