Rs. 70 crore (£6.1 million) was for Argentina's appearance fee.
Lionel Messi’s much-hyped visit to Kerala now appears unlikely as the organisers have reportedly failed to raise the required money to host the Argentina national team.
In November 2023, Kerala Sports Minister V Abdurahiman announced that Argentina would play two international friendlies in the state in 2025.
At least one match was expected to be held in Kochi in October.
But the deal now seems off.
According to The New Indian Express, the organisers could not raise the minimum Rs. 100 crore (£8.7 million) needed to host the 2022 World Cup winners.
Of that, Rs. 70 crore (£6.1 million) was for Argentina’s appearance fee.
It is reported that the deadline to confirm the deal has passed. The organisers did not meet the financial requirements.
Argentina have now begun considering other venues.
Argentine sports journalist Gastón Edul said that Argentina will now play “two matches in China and one each in Angola and Qatar”.
He added that while the schedule has not been formally released, Argentina appear to have already filled their October and November 2025 FIFA windows.
The original sponsorship plan was spearheaded by a faction of the All Kerala Gold and Silver Merchants Association. The group planned to raise Rs. 100 crore through sales on its ‘Oloppo’ app.
However, the campaign reportedly failed to gain traction. The Kerala government then transferred sponsorship rights to Reporter Broadcasting Company Pvt Ltd, which owns Reporter TV.
HSBC India, which partnered with the Argentina football team to promote the sport in India and Singapore, had backed the original plan.
In March 2025, the bank had said the team would visit India in October 2025.
In a statement, HSBC India said: “Under this partnership, the Argentina national football team, including legendary player Lionel Messi, will visit India for an international exhibition match in October 2025.”
But since then, the bank has remained silent on the matter.
Minister Abdurahiman has also refused to comment, saying:
“The sponsors will respond to the queries.”
The match would have been Lionel Messi’s first visit to India since September 2011.
Argentina played a World Cup qualifying match against Venezuela at Kolkata’s Salt Lake stadium.
More than 70,000 people watched Argentina win 1-0, with Nicolás Otamendi scoring the game’s only goal.
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