Sponsor may take action if Messi’s Argentina doesn't play in India this year

The Kerala Sports Minister V. Abdurahiman, who had been frequently announcing that Argentina would be playing in Kerala in October, had told the media in Kozhikode on Monday that the team would not visit Kerala this year.

The Reporter Broadcasting Company, the Kerala Government’s commercial partner for bringing the Argentina football team and its star Messi to Kerala, has said that it might be forced to take legal recourse if the World Cup champion does not play in the State in October or November this year.

Reporter, the sponsor for the team’s visit to Kerala, said it had paid the full amount of Rs 130 crore to the Argentina Football Association on June 6 this year as per the agreement signed in December 2024 with the AFA.

“As per the agreement, we had sent the full amount, and they (AFA) also acknowledged that they had received it. But after five days, we received an email asking whether we are okay with having the match in September 2026,” said Anto Augustine, the Managing Director of Reporter, on Tuesday.

“That violates the terms of the agreement we have with the AFA. We are not okay with it. As per our agreement with the AFA, the deal was to have the match in October-November this year. They had even told us that the match could be held in October, and we had fulfilled all the terms as per the agreement.”

The next World Cup will be held in June-July 2026 in Canada, Mexico and the USA, and Augustine feels the scene could be very different after the event.

“We are interested in having the match only this year, as per the agreed terms. If the agreement is not honoured, there will be huge financial loss. So we may have to handle this legally,” he said.

The Kerala Sports Minister V. Abdurahiman, who had been frequently announcing that Argentina would be playing in Kerala in October, had told the media in Kozhikode on Monday that the team would not visit Kerala this year. The minister explained that Argentina had problems in visiting the State in October.

Reporter Broadcasting Company’s Augustine felt it was not proper to announce that Messi and Argentina would not be coming to Kerala till the Argentina FA officially announces that the team would not be playing in the State this year.