Lionel Messi to visit Kerala in November, Argentina football team scheduled to play FIFA friendly | Football News

Lionel Messi is set to visit Kerala in November this year for an international FIFA friendly, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) announced on Friday. The fixture will be part of three matches scheduled for the November FIFA window, and the reigning world champions will also play two games in Luanda and Angola. The opponents for these three matches are yet to be determined.

In a statement, the AFA said, “The Argentine national team, led by Lionel Scaloni, will have two FIFA friendly windows in the remainder of 2025.”

“The first, in October, from the 6th to the 14th, will be played in the United States (opponents and cities to be determined). The second, a FIFA friendlies in November, from the 10th to the 18th, will be played in Luanda, Angola, and Kerala, India (opponents to be determined).”

It will also be Messi’s first trip to India since 2011, when he and Argentina faced Venezuela in an international friendly in Kolkata. The announcement also comes after the Kerala Government had earlier received criticism for spending a lot of money to invite Messi and it was reported that he and the Argentine team had rejected the invitation.

Few days ago, Kerala Sports Minister V Abdurahiman had said, “So far, the Argentina team has not said they will skip Kerala. On the contrary, the government has been informed of their arrival in November. Necessary security arrangements have already been requested for the team.”

“The AFA has assured that the visit in November will take place with the new sponsor. My visit to Spain was not just to meet AFA officials, but also to discuss the new stadium project in Thiruvananthapuram with Spain’s Sports Council,” he added.