Amid reports that Lionel Messi-led Argentina football team would not travel to Kerala to play an international match, the state’s Sports Minister V Abdurahiman on Saturday (May 17) said the scheduled visit would happen later this year in October.

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Abdurahiman said sponsors, and not the Kerala state government, would be responsible for the visit of Messi and the Argentina team.

What minister said

Reports claimed that the Argentina team had withdrawn from touring Kerala due to contract issues with the sponsor.

“Argentina will come to Kerala and they will play here in October… Though there was some delay in some aspects, there is no confusion at present,” Abdurahiman told the media.

“…the first sponsor could not meet the RBI’s eligibility criteria. So, as per the request of the Reporter (Broadcasting Company), we gave the sponsorship to them and they received necessary clearances from the RBI to go ahead. So, I still hope that Messi and his team will come to Kerala. There is no need to think negatively at the moment.

In March, Abdurahiman told the Kerala Assembly that they had received permissions from the Union government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for Messi’s visit.

“In connection with Messi’s visit, we have received two permissions from the Centre – One from the Reserve Bank and the other from the Union Sports Ministry,” he had said.

Argentina’s WC qualifiers

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Messi returned to the Argentina squad for their FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers against Chile and Colombia.

The 37-year-old Messi had missed the doubleheader in March because of an adductor injury. However, defending champions Argentina qualified for the tournament with wins over Uruguay and Brazil.

Argentina will visit Chile on June 5, and on June 10, will host Colombia in Buenos Aires.