Sponsor claims Argentinian Football Association has not yet officially called off Kerala tour
He was addressing a press conference here on Tuesday after Sports Minister V. Abdurahiman said the previous day that the visit of the Argentina national team to Kerala was off. This had created much heartburn among football fans across the State.
Mr. Augustine claimed that his company had already paid the AFA over ₹130 crore based on a contract that the same Argentina team, including Lionel Messi, that won the last World Cup would play two matches and participate in a fans meeting during the tour.
'But now the association has informed that the team will visit the State in September 2026 and sent a draft contract to sign if that is acceptable to us. It has also proposed to send a delegation to discuss the matter, both of which are not acceptable to us,' he said.
He said that a contract already signed, based on which payment had been made after informing the State government, Centre, Finance Ministry, and the Reserve Bank of India, cannot be revised just like that.
'Our contract was that the same team that won the last World Cup will play in Kerala. By next September, the World Cup will be over and there is no guarantee that Argentina will win it again. We will wait for another 15 days for a confirmation since making the infrastructure arrangements will take time and cannot be done in short notice,' said Mr. Augustine, who wondered whether the AFA, having realised the potential of the tour, was trying to bargain.
The Sports Minister had announced last November that the Argentina national football team featuring Messi would play two exhibition matches against Japan and Qatar in Kerala in 2025. However, when the itinerary was released by the AFA this May, there wasn't a stopover in Kerala. The blame was then put on the Kochi-based company as the Minister said it was for the company, which had an agreement with the AFA, to explain. However, in June, Mr. Abdurahiman raised fresh hopes through his social media post, 'Messi is coming.'
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