Lionel Messi and the Argentina football team are set to visit India after a 14-year hiatus, with the 2022 FIFA World Cup champions slated to play international friendlies in Kerala in 2025 as confirmed by the state’s sports minister V. Abdurahiman.
Kerala, a region renowned for its deep passion for football and strong support for South American teams, particularly Argentina, showcased this fervor during the 2022 World Cup with public watch parties and celebratory processions after Argentina’s triumph in Doha. To harness this enthusiasm, the Kerala Government plans to host Argentina for two matches, collaborating with merchant organizations such as the Kerala Gold and Silver Merchants Association to finance the events.
Speaking at a press conference, Abdurahiman announced that the state government would take full charge of organizing the match. “The world’s number 1 football team Argentina including Lionel Messi will visit Kerala next year. The match will be held under the complete supervision of the state government. The state’s traders have promised to provide financial assistance to conduct the match,” Abdulrahman confirmed.
The minister stated that AFA officials are expected to visit Kerala within the next six weeks for further discussions. When questioned about Messi’s potential arrival and Argentina’s opponent, he responded.
“Those details will be chalked out later. The match will have to be conducted as per the FIFA window for international friendlies. Kochi is one of the options to host the game”, Abdulrahman added.
BREAKING🚨 Lionel Messi led Argentina team set to play a friendly in Kerala, announces Sports minister of Kerala#Messi #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/OBFa8hBUSp
— IFTWC – Indian Football (@IFTWC) November 20, 2024
This will mark Messi’s second visit to India; his first was in September 2011 when he led Argentina to a 1-0 victory over Venezuela in a friendly match in Kolkata, with Nicolás Otamendi scoring the decisive goal. That match also marked Messi’s debut as Argentina’s captain. Since then, the 37-year-old has added two Copa Américas and the World Cup to his list of achievements.
Notably, Messi is not the only World Cup winner from the squad to visit India with goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, a key figure in Argentina’s Qatar triumph, visiting Kolkata in July 2023.
Meanwhile, Lionel Scaloni’s side continues to dominate their 2026 World Cup qualifiers, securing a 1-0 victory over Peru in Buenos Aires on Tuesday. Once again, Messi stole the headlines with a sublime assist to set up Lautaro Martínez’s decisive goal. The assist marked Messi’s 58th in international football, tying him with the USA’s Landon Donovan for the all-time record.
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Mohd Faisal Hakak is a sports author from Kashmir. He likes to keep tabs on the sporting world with a keen interest in football, motorsports, NBA, and other marquee sports. He is a science graduate from Islamia College Srinagar.
