It’s Official: Lionel Messi Not Coming To Kerala In November, Argentina’s Kochi Friendly Match Postponed
Kerala’s long-held dream of hosting Lionel Messi and his World Cup-winning Argentina team this November has officially been dashed. The much-anticipated friendly match scheduled to take place in Kochi on November 17 has been postponed, with Argentina’s national team confirming an entirely different schedule for the month.
The event’s main sponsor, Anto Augustine, who had earlier announced the fixture in collaboration with Kerala’s Sports Department, confirmed on Saturday that the match will not take place next month.
Taking to Facebook, Augustine wrote in Malayalam that the event had been postponed following a delay in obtaining FIFA’s official approval. “Due to a delay in getting FIFA’s approval, a decision to postpone the match scheduled for November was taken in a meeting with an AFA official. The match will be held in the next window. The announcement will be made soon,” he said.
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) has confirmed that the team, led by coach Lionel Scaloni, will not be travelling to India in November. Instead, Argentina will spend the month in Europe and Africa for training and a single friendly fixture.
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According to a report by Onmanorama, the AFA stated: “The Argentine national team, led by Lionel Scaloni, will travel to Spain in November for training and then move to Luanda for their only friendly against Angola on Friday the 14th.”
Following the match in Angola, Argentina will return to South America to continue training until November 18, coinciding with the end of the FIFA international window, the association added.
The Kerala government had earlier claimed that Australia would face Argentina in the proposed Kochi match. However, Football Australia (FA) has now confirmed entirely different plans.
In an official statement, the Argentina FA said: “Football Australia is pleased to confirm that the Socceroos will return to the USA during the November FIFA Men’s International Window to take on Venezuela and Colombia.”
The Socceroos are set to play Venezuela in Texas on November 14 and Colombia in New York on November 18, leaving no window for a match in India.
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The proposed friendly had generated immense excitement among football fans in Kerala, a state known for its passionate football culture. The match, scheduled for November 17 at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, Kochi, was expected to feature Lionel Messi, Ángel Di María, Emiliano Martínez, and other stars of Argentina’s 2022 World Cup-winning squad.
Promotional plans had even included fan events, a public parade, and an open-bus celebration featuring the players. However, with the AFA’s official schedule now public, all such plans have been effectively shelved.
Sports Minister V. Abdurahiman had earlier expressed optimism that the event would materialize, stating that discussions were in the final stages. But as of now, both the AFA and Football Australia have ruled out any possibility of a November fixture in India.
While hopes have dimmed for a November visit, Anto Augustine insists that the project is not cancelled altogether. “The match is postponed, not cancelled. We are working with the AFA to schedule it in the next available FIFA window,” he clarified.
Football enthusiasts across Kerala have expressed deep disappointment online. Many had already started planning travel and accommodation for what would have been one of the state’s biggest sporting spectacles in decades. Still, several fans remain hopeful that the fixture could be revived at a later date.
