After more than two years of build-up, the state government's grand plan to bring the Argentina national football team to its home ground has ended without a kick.
Published Aug 09, 2025 | 8:00 AM ⚊ Updated Aug 09, 2025 | 8:00 AM
Sports Minister V Abdurahiman at the Lusail Stadium, Qatar during the Qatar FIFA World Cup in 2022.
Synopsis: Kerala, known for its love of football, is disappointed after it was officially announced that Argentina’s football team will not be playing in the state as promised by the Minister for Sports, V Abdurahiman.
Kerala’s long pass to bring Argentina to its turf has ended in an offside.
After more than two years of build-up, the state government’s grand plan to bring the Argentina national football team to its home ground has ended without a kick.
What started in December 2022—the same year Lionel Messi lifted the World Cup in Qatar—as a dream move to host the footballing giants, had fans dreaming of seeing their heroes live.
But in 2025, the final score is clear: Argentina is not coming, and Kerala’s football lovers are left staring at an empty net.
For fans who held their breath and hearts for a glimpse of their hero, the statement from Kerala Sports Minister V Abdurahiman on 4 August, that the Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (AFA) team led by Messi will not visit the state, has come as the final whistle on a much-hyped match that never kicked off.
Meanwhile, as the dust settles down, the bigger question now echoes beyond the stands: Did the state lose more than just a dream in this high-profile dribble?
In the euphoric aftermath of Argentina’s historic FIFA World Cup win on 18 December 2022, Kerala’s passion for football turned into a diplomatic gesture.
Just four days after the final, Minister Abdurahiman wrote to Claudio Tapia, President of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), inviting the World Champions to Kerala.
Sports Minister’s letter to the AFA president in December 2022
In his letter, the minister lauded the team’s victory and acknowledged a social media post by AFA on December 19 that thanked Kerala for its passionate support.
“Football is a game which transcends all barriers and unites people globally,” he wrote.
“Every nook and corner of the state was decorated with photos of Argentine players and flags during the tournament. Your presence here would be a matter of pride and inspiration for our football lovers,” the minister highlighted.
Recognising the power of this connection, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan met Argentina’s Ambassador Hugo Javier Gobbi in New Delhi in April 2023, expressing Kerala’s keenness to collaborate with Argentina in football development.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan with Argentina’s Ambassador Hugo Javier Gobbi in New Delhi in April 2023. Footballer I M Vijayan is also seen.
Later in June 2023, Abdurahiman posted on social media that Argentina had expressed interest in playing in India and Bangladesh between 10 and 20 June 2023, as a gesture of gratitude for the support.
However, he criticised the All India Football Federation (AIFF) for rejecting the offer, citing financial and competitive concerns.
“Even top footballing nations were eager, but India let it slip,” he noted, calling it a missed opportunity for Indian football.
He then reiterated the state government’s interest in bringing the AFA team to Kerala by stating, “Kerala will always welcome Argentina with all its heart. We will be ready to host the match. That is the greatest gift we can give to our football-loving population.”
Then, in January 2024, the Kerala Sports Minister announced that the AFA had officially accepted the state’s invitation, following a high-level virtual meeting.
The virtual meeting
The AFA expressed willingness to collaborate in training programmes, especially the state’s ambitious project to train 5,000 children, and even proposed playing two friendly matches in Kerala.
While a June 2024 match was initially considered, the monsoon made it unfeasible.
Argentina has now expressed its readiness to play in Kerala in October 2025 — a potential historic moment for Indian football, the minister then said.
Further, the Sports Minister and state officials visited Madrid in September 2024, which, according to the minister, was upon the AFA’s invitation.
Sports Minister with AFA officials in Madrid in September 2024
The visit saw in-depth discussions with AFA officials on organizing international friendlies in Kerala and establishing AFA-backed football academies in the state.
They also met with the Spanish Higher Sports Council and explored High Performance Centers in Madrid, discussing Kerala’s aspiration to upgrade its training facilities to global standards.
The visit also focused on developing sports-related soft skills and creating employment opportunities within the sports ecosystem.
Talks were also held about mutual participation in a new Sports Institute being planned at Calicut University.
In November, Abdurahiman reaffirmed his commitment to the plan, announcing that the Argentina national football team, including Lionel Messi, would visit Kerala in 2025 for an international match to be organised under the state government’s supervision.
He stated that funding for the event would come from local traders, and the match—likely to be held in Kochi—would be hosted at a venue capable of accommodating at least 50,000 spectators. The final date, he added, would be decided by the AFA, with a joint announcement involving the team’s management expected within a month and a half.
What began as a wave of excitement turned into a full-blown saga that ended in disappointment.
Messi.
It all started on 19 January 2025, when Abdurahiman announced—during what he later claimed was a motivational speech—that Argentina would visit the state between 25 October and 2 November 2025.
The dates immediately raised eyebrows, clashing with the official FIFA calendar that closed by October 14.
While the minister walked back the statement, citing that discussions were ongoing, fans were already hooked.
The drama escalated between 17 and 19 May, when media reports claimed Argentina had pulled out due to a sponsorship mess. The initial sponsor, Kerala Gold and Silver Merchants’ Association, reportedly failed to secure RBI clearance, prompting its exit.
In stepped the Reporter Broadcasting Company, a Kochi-based broadcaster, which claimed to have received all necessary approvals.
Abdurahiman assured the public that the government was merely a facilitator, and the AFA contract remained intact.
On 6 June, the broadcaster made a ₹130 crore payment to the AFA, and the minister confidently declared on Facebook: “Messi will come.”
A social media post by the Sports Minister in June 2025 saying Messi will come
A joint announcement with the AFA was said to be imminent. But the final twist came in the first week of August.
On 4-5 August, Abdurahiman confirmed that Argentina would not visit Kerala in October, citing a scheduling conflict. The AFA proposed postponing the tour to March 2026, but the sponsor refused, insisting on the originally agreed window.
The Kerala government, standing with the sponsor, rejected the new date and accused the AFA of breaching the December 2024 agreement.
As reports surfaced of Argentina committing to friendlies in China during the same period, the Reporter Broadcasting Company threatened legal action, demanding accountability for financial losses.
Thus ended Kerala’s high-stakes Messi dream — in a storm of claims, counterclaims, and crushed expectations.
The much-hyped proposal of bringing football legend Lionel Messi to Kerala has now snowballed into a major controversy involving allegations of corruption, factional feud, and misuse of public funds.
The Fab 4 of Argentina
In May 2025, reports emerged that two rival factions of the All Kerala Gold and Silver Merchants’ Association — one led by K Surendran and S Abdul Nassar, and the other by Justine Palathara — were trading serious allegations over fund collection for Messi’s visit.
Surendran’s group accused the Palathara faction of collecting ₹10,000 each from merchants under the pretext of funding Messi’s visit to promote a shopping festival through a dedicated app.
Palathara, however, denied the claims and challenged his rivals to file a formal police complaint, asserting that no such collection occurred.
The row reached the Chief Minister’s Office, with the Surendran-led group seeking a probe into the alleged fraud and even implicating the state’s Sports Minister in their petition.
Adding fuel to the fire, a document also revealed that the Sports Minister’s, along with top officials’, visit to Spain in September 2024 to coordinate the event, incurred a cost of ₹13.04 lakh from the Sports Development Fund — a direct burden on the state exchequer.
This revelation contradicts the earlier assurance that the government wouldn’t bear any cost related to the AFA visit.
Though allegations and criticism against the development are there, Congress leader VT Balram’s stand out.
Messi’s cutout at the Thrissur Pooram. (Twitter)
In a social media post, he has come down heavily on Abdurahiman, accusing him of misleading the public with unrealistic promises about bringing the Argentina national football team to Kerala.
In a strongly worded social media post, Balram said the Minister had, from the outset, claimed that Kerala would host an international match featuring Argentina — not just Lionel Messi — but failed to grasp even the basic procedures involved in organising such an event.
Balram pointed out that only the All India Football Federation (AIFF), not a state government or its football association, can coordinate international friendlies involving national teams like Argentina. He recalled that the last time Argentina played in India — against Venezuela in Kolkata in 2011 — it was facilitated under the central government’s watch, not by any state.
Criticising the Minister’s lack of understanding about FIFA’s international match calendar, Balram noted that the available international breaks are limited and highly structured, making the scheduling of a Kerala match with Argentina virtually impossible. He mocked the Minister’s earlier claims that Argentina would play in Kerala between 25 October and 2 November — dates that don’t align with the FIFA international break schedule.
Balram alleged that the repeated promotion of Argentina’s visit — especially during key electoral periods like the Lok Sabha and Assembly by-elections — was part of a political PR campaign to influence young voters rather than a sincere sporting initiative.
He also raised concerns about public money possibly being spent on foreign trips made by the minister and his team under the pretext of arranging the Argentina visit, demanding a proper audit of the expenses.
“The public treasury should not bear the burden of this fraud. Minister Abdurahiman himself must take responsibility,” Balram asserted.
What was pitched as a celebration of football culture now leaves behind a trail of unanswered questions, political allegations, broken promises, financial disputes, and political mudslinging and disillusioned fans.
(Edited by Majnu Babu)
