Football Messiah to set foot in Kerala; Lionel Messi and team Argentina to visit Kerala for friendly match

KOZHIKODE: Football legend Lionel Messi and his Argentine team will come to Kerala. The information coming out is that the player will arrive in Kerala on October 25. State Sports Minister V Abdurahiman said at an event in Kozhikode that Messi will be in Kerala for seven days. The minister clarified that apart from the friendly match decided earlier, Messi will also participate in the public event. 20 minutes are allotted for this. The Argentina Football Association officials and Abdurahiman have agreed to provide fans with an opportunity to interact with Messi. It will be decided soon which team Argentina will play against. The minister did not provide further details.

The Argentine football team, which won the Qatar World Cup, had informed the Indian Football Association that it is ready to play a friendly match in India. The association had declined the invitation on the grounds that it could not afford the cost of the match. Kerala Sports Minister V Abdurahiman had sent a letter to the Argentine Football Association inviting the Argentine team to Kerala. A reply via email was received accepting the invitation.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had visited the Ambassador of the Argentine Republic in Delhi and expressed his interest in cooperating with Argentina for the development of football in the state. There are likely to be two matches in Kerala. Argentina's team including Messi had played at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata in 2011. Lionel Messi was the captain of Argentina in the friendly match against Venezuela.