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Lionel Messi’s eagerly awaited visit to Kerala with the Argentina national football team has been reportedly cancelled due to insurmountable financial challenges. The event, which had generated immense excitement among Indian football fans, required a staggering ₹100 Crore in total funding, with ₹70 Crore allocated solely as an appearance fee for the World Cup-winning Argentine side. Despite months of preparation and initial enthusiasm, organizers failed to secure the necessary funds in time, leading to the cancellation of what would have been a landmark sporting event for the state and the country.
The All Kerala Gold and Silver Merchants Association, the event’s initial sponsor, withdrew from the project early on, citing funding difficulties. Subsequently, the Reporter Broadcasting Company took over sponsorship duties and attempted to carry the project forward. While key government clearances; including from the Reserve Bank of India and the Union Sports Ministry were secured, delays in making the required payments to the Argentina Football Association (AFA) raised serious doubts about the event’s feasibility. Kerala’s Sports Minister V. Abdurahiman confirmed the developments, stating that while the state had done its part, the onus to bring the team lay entirely on the private sponsors.
This could have been Lionel Messi’s second visit to India after Kolkata in 2011
Further compounding the issue, the AFA recently released its international match schedule for late 2025, which notably excludes any fixtures in India. Instead, the schedule lists matches to be held in China, Qatar, and various African nations, all of which appear to have met the financial requirements. This omission has all but confirmed the cancellation of the Kerala tour. However, Minister Abdurahiman maintains that the agreement with the AFA remains technically valid, should the sponsors manage to fulfill their financial commitments.
This isn’t the first time Indian fans had the opportunity to witness Messi in action. In 2011, a 24-year-old Lionel Messi visited Kolkata with the Argentina national team to play a friendly against Venezuela at the Salt Lake Stadium. The match ended 1-0 in Argentina’s favor, with Nicolas Otamendi scoring the only goal, but it was Messi’s presence that truly electrified the crowd of over 85,000 fans.
