Thiruvananthapuram: The World Cup-winning Argentinian football team, led by the iconic Lionel Messi, will play in Kochi next year, Kerala State Sports Minister V Abdurahiman announced on Wednesday.
Addressing the media here, Abdurahiman said this is the culmination of the talks he had with top officials of the Argentina Football Association (AFA), held in Spain in September. “Messi would be there, so would the full-strength national team of Argentina. This has become a reality after the full support of the Kerala Sports Foundation supported people’s football movement with the Kerala government taking over every aspect, including the security arrangements of the visiting team,” he said.
Messi last played in India in 2011, when Argentina and Venezuela played an international friendly at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. The match ended in a goalless draw.
“The official announcement will be done by a team comprising of Kerala and Argentinian officials next month. The officials from FIFA will be visiting Kochi to have an inspection of the venue and also will look into the security aspects,” added Abdurahiman.
According to the international calendar, the exact date of the match will be announced after considering all other fixtures, including the ongoing play-offs to the next World Cup. Incidentally, the Kerala government’s efforts to bring in the Messi-led winning World Cup started last year. After several preliminary discussions, things got into top gear when a high-level delegation from Kerala held discussions with officials of the AFA in Spain in September.
That discussion paved the way for the official confirmation from the AFA officials regarding the possibility of the three-time World Cup winners (1978, 1986, 2022) visiting Kerala.
In the soccer-crazy northern districts of Kerala, the Argentina football team has the biggest support base. Still, even though many football buffs were expecting the friendly international match might be staged at either Malappuram or Kozhikode, which are considered to be the most enthusiastic districts where football is the most popular sporting event due to a few reasons, the much-awaited match will take place in Kochi.
For more updates Subscribe to Media Eye News
–IANS
(File Photo:Suman Chattopadhyay/IANS)
