Messi’s Kerala trip postponed: Why Argentina football team will not come to India in November

Lionel Messi’s trip to Kerala, India, with the Argentina football team in November 2025 has been postponed, the Argentina Football Federation (AFA) and the event’s sponsor announced on Saturday (25 October).

Earlier, Anto Augustine, the sponsor of the proposed football match, along with the Kerala sports department, had announced that the Argentina team led by Messi would play a friendly match against Australia in Kochi on 17 November.

“The Argentine national team, led by Lionel Scaloni, will travel to Spain in November for training and then move to Luanda for their only friendly against Angola on Friday the 14th,” AFA said in an official statement on Saturday.

Messi’s Kerala trip postponed; could visit in 2026

“After the match, the delegation will return to the old continent (South America) to continue their training until November 18th, the day the FIFA World Cup concludes,” AFA added, confirming that they do not plan to visit India in November 2025.

Sponsor Augustine said on his Facebook page that the match will not take place next month.

“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.

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He added the match in Kerala could be held during the next international window in March 2026, but no new date has been announced yet.

Why was Messi’s Kerala trip postponed?

Augustine added that the match was postponed due to a delay in obtaining FIFA’s permission.

The match was reportedly postponed after AFA representatives visited the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kochi to assess the facilities.

One of the officials told the Spanish media outlet La Nación that the match cannot take place in November as Kerala is not yet ready to host the Argentina match.

“We did everything possible to make it happen in November; a delegation even travelled to India to inspect the field, hotels, and other arrangements, but India could not meet the requirements,” he said.

Messi is also scheduled to visit India for a private tour in December. The promotional tour is titled ‘G.O.A.T India Tour 2025,’ covering Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and New Delhi.