They have cried with Messi, they have smiled with Messi, they have worshipped him, but from afar. Now, they have an opportunity to witness his magic firsthand.
The Kerala government announced on Wednesday that the Argentina national football team, led by Lionel Messi, will visit the state next year for two international friendly matches.
Sports minister V. Abdurahiman, who addressed a media conference in state capital Thiruvananthapuram, indicated that the venue could be Kochi and the opponents Japan and Qatar.
“The world’s No.1 football team, Argentina, including Lionel Messi, is coming to Kerala.... There will be two matches,” he said.
Abdurahiman told The Telegraph that the dates of the two exhibition matches would be announced by the Argentina Football Association later.
Representatives of the football team are expected to visit Kerala in 45 days, the minister said. “We have decidedto make a joint announcement along with the Argentinanational team management,” he said.
The matches will be organised by the state government. Since the Left government is reeling from a severe cash crunch, the event, Olopo Magic, will be sponsored by the All Kerala Gold and Silver Merchants Association (AKGSMA) with additional financial backing from local businessmen.
Abdurahiman said he had recently gone to Spain to hold discussions with representatives of the Argentina national team and to extend an official invitation for their visit to the state.
Making it clear that the match would be held in a stadium with a capacity of atleast 50,000 people, he indicated that Kochi is likely to bethe venue.
“In all likelihood, Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, Kochi, will host the two exhibition matches.
“Two Asian giants, Qatar and Japan, are likely to be the opponents. This landmark event is expected to garner global attention to a soccer-crazy state like Kerala. Apart from the AKGSMA, the Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi (KVVES) has agreed to pitch in as sponsors,” Abdurahiman told this newspaper.
In the football-crazy town of Nainamvalappu in Kozhikode in north Kerala, the residents had been looking forward to watching the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifier between arch-rivals Argentina and Brazil on their TVs on March 25 next year when news came in of Messi’s impending visit to the state.
N.V. Subair, the founder of the Nainamvalappu Football Fans Association (NFFA), told The Telegraph: “Every household here considers Messi a family member. When Messi cries, his fans here cry; when he smiles, they smile. All of us are eagerly waiting to welcome Messi and his team next year.”
Subair is a campus coordinator at the Association of Welfare for the Handicapped Special College at Kallai in Kozhikode.
Since 1996, Subair, the founder of NFFA, has been in touch with Fifa, which sends its new rules, brochure miniatures and other documents on official decisions for record-keeping at the mini Fifa Museum at Nainamvalappu.
The town has towering cutouts of Messi and other soccer stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar.
Football fans can also buy tickets from shops run by the KVVES. Raju Apsara, state president of the trader’s organisation, said: “Fans can secure tickets through reward points earned via purchases at retail outlets partnered with the Olopo Magic app. Our businesses have been badly affected because of the surge in online shopping.
“We wanted to ensure that our businesses don’t shut down and therefore we decided to go for offline promotions. If a soccer fan purchases goods worth Rs 100, they will get 4 per cent points. By accumulating points, tickets for the two matches can be bought. We have zeroed in on Kochi as the primary venue.”
