Kerala Sports Minister V Abdurahiman reaffirmed on Saturday (June 7) that the Argentina national football team, led by global icon Lionel Messi, will indeed visit the state.
The Kerala government had previously announced in 2024 that they are arranging a friendly game for Argentina.
The minister confirmed on Saturday that the event’s local sponsor – Kochi-based Reporter Broadcasting Company (RBC) – has now paid the required match fee, clearing the way for the highly anticipated visit.
The alliance, spanning the 2025 and 2026 seasons, will see the reigning FIFA world champions travel to India in October and Singapore in early 2026 for exhibition matches.
According to the minister, the team is expected to arrive between October and November this year. They will be treated as state guests, with the Kerala government providing for their security, accommodation, and other necessary arrangements.
This announcement “clears the air” among football fans in the state, following media reports that had claimed Argentina had cancelled the tour due to alleged breaches of contract by the sponsor. Both Minister Abdurahiman and RBC had denied those claims, maintaining that the reigning FIFA World Cup champions would play a friendly match in Kerala as planned.
The minister reignited public excitement on Friday through a brief Facebook post stating, “Messi will come,” and thanked the sponsor for making the event possible.
Speaking to the media on Saturday, Abdurahiman acknowledged there had been a delay in the payment of the match fee but said the issue had since been resolved.
“The sponsor has now paid the amount. There are no remaining obstacles. As per the FIFA window, October-November is the ideal period for such international friendlies. So that timeframe is likely for us as well,” he said.
Primary sponsor HSBC
Speaking of sponsors, it bears stressing here that the primary sponsor of the Argentine team’s tour to Asia (NOT India alone) is HSBC. It was in April 2024 that London-headquartered HSBC inked a one-year partnership with the Argentina Football Association (AFA), becoming the first banking institution to collaborate with the Argentine national football team in Singapore and India.
Per HSBC’s official announcement at the time: “The alliance, spanning the 2025 and 2026 seasons, will see the reigning world champion Argentina national team, featuring global football icon Lionel Messi, travel to India in October 2025 and Singapore in early 2026 for exhibition matches.”
HSBC customers and partners, the bank noted in its announcement, will “enjoy exclusive access to match tickets, curated fan experiences, and once-in-a-lifetime meet-and-greet opportunities with the Argentine players”.
Coming back to the local sponsor, per the agreement between RBC and AFA, the team will confirm the tour and release further details in a joint statement once the payment is officially processed.
Responding to questions, the minister clarified that the financial aspects of the deal are solely between the sponsor and AFA.
“The government has no involvement in the financial dealings. The contract is entirely between the sponsor and the team management. We were informed by the sponsor that the match fee has been settled,” he explained.
As for where the match will be held, the state has two venues that could possibly host the friendly – the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram and the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kochi.
Per the latest reports doing the rounds, the friendly is expected to be hosted in Thiruvananthapuram, which meets “global standards for such high-profile events”.
The Greenfield International Stadium, also known as The Sports Hub, Trivandrum, is a multi-purpose stadium. The only catch is that though the stadium, which has a seating capacity of 50,000, has also been used for football, it was primarily developed to host cricket matches, with hardened wickets taking up the centre of the ground.
