“The next announcement may be about Lionel Messi coming to Kerala to play cricket—why, maybe even hockey,” said Ahammed Salih of the Malappuram Argentina WhatsApp Koottayma, rather caustically.
He was furious about Sports Minister V. Abdurahiman’s latest announcement that the proposed visit of the Argentina national team to Kerala had been called off. This is the second time in less than two months that fans have been left crestfallen over Messi’s visit to Kerala.
“We were planning to organise a football tournament to mark Messi’s visit to Kerala. We were also determined to watch him play, no matter where the matches were held. The constant announcements and retractions amount to playing with the sentiments of football fans,” fretted Mr. Salih.
Initially, fans were left disappointed when the itinerary released by the Argentina Football Federation (AFC) in May did not include a stopover in Kerala, contrary to Mr. Abdurahiman’s announcement in November last year that the Argentina national football team featuring Messi would play two exhibition matches against Japan and Qatar in Kerala in 2025. The blame was then placed on the Kochi-based company, with Mr. Abdurahiman saying it was up to the company, which had an agreement with the AFC, to explain.
