Argentina football team featuring Lionel Messi to play in Kerala next year

PTI Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government announced on Wednesday that the Argentina national football team, led by legendary player Lionel Messi, will visit the state next year for an international friendly match. Addressing a press conference, Sports Minister V Abdurahiman said that the worldrenowned team would play two friendly matches in Kerala, with the event being conducted under the complete supervision of the state government. The venue and the opponent team would be decided at a later stage, Abdurahiman said, reacting to a query. "The world's number one football team, Argentina, including Lionel Messi, is coming to Kerala... There will be two matches," he said.

The management of the Argentina team would make an official announcement in this regard upon arriving in the state, Abdurahiman said. Representatives of the football team are expected to visit the southern state within one and a half months, the minister said. "We (government) have decided to make a joint announcement in this regard with the Argentina national team management," he said. The minister said that he had recently visited Spain to hold discussions with representatives of the Argentina national team and to extend an official invitation for their visit to the state. He said that talks were held with individuals associated with the team, who agreed to visit India in 2025 and participate in the friendly match event. Responding to a question, he said that the decision regarding the team's arrival has been finalised, and there are no changes to it. He noted that the government would directly oversee the match, security, and other arrangements.

The minister said that the match would take place next year, but the date would be announced by the Argentina Football Association (AFA) in accordance with their procedures. Making it clear that the match would be held in a stadium with a capacity of at least 50,000 people, he indicated that Kochi is likely to be the venue.