Kochi, Oct 25 (IANS) Lionel Messi and his team Argentina’s highly anticipated match in India has been postponed. Originally scheduled for November 17 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the game will now take place during FIFA’s upcoming international match window, as announced on social media by Anto Augustine, managing director of Reporter Broadcasting Company, the sponsor of the friendly game.

Anto Augustine, a businessman from Kerala and Managing Director of Emaraj Group International, posted on Facebook explaining that the postponement was due to a delay in receiving permission from FIFA, the international football organisation. He indicated that the match in Kerala will be rescheduled for the next international window, and the new date will be announced shortly.

“Considering the delay in receiving FIFA’s permission, after discussions with the Argentine Football Association (AFA), it has been decided to postpone the match from the November window,” Augustine wrote.

Earlier, Spanish media outlet La Nacion, citing an official from the Argentine Football Association (AFA), reported that the three-time FIFA World Cup winners will not go to Kerala. The reason is that the Indian state did not meet the requirements to host the match, and also because of “repeated breaches.”

“We did everything possible to make it happen in November; a delegation even travelled to India to see the field, the hotel… but ultimately, India couldn’t meet the requirements. Unfortunately, there were repeated breaches by India, and what we’re going to do is reorganise the contract to find a new date,” the AFA official said

Since the announcement of the friendly match involving the World champion Argentina by the Kerala Sports Minister, there has been considerable confusion. At one point, even the Minister stated that the match was cancelled, but in August, the AFA confirmed that their team would still be playing in Kochi.

Recently, Argentine media reports suggested that the India match might not take place in November and could be postponed to March 2026.

— IANS

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