World Champions Argentina’s cancellation of their visit to Kerala will have consequences the state’s football association have confirmed. The Lionel Messi led side were scheduled to visit in October but could cancel the same over scheduling issues. At the same time, Messi is set to be involved in a exhibition cricket match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in December.
Postponement to trigger massive losses, AFA threatened with legal action
As per a report by Onmanorama, the Argentina Football Association could face a huge penalty should the World Champions cancel their tour to Kerala later this year. The Kerala Government’s commercial partner- the Reporter Broadcasting Company has revealed there are clauses in their agreement which could force them to take legal action.
Reporter Broadcasting Company reportedly paid Rs 130 crore in June this year to the AFA as part of the deal signed in December 2024. The AFA meanwhile is trying to defer the visit to 2026 citing scheduling concerns.
“As per the agreement, we had sent the full amount and they (AFA) also acknowledged it. But after five days, we received an email asking whether we are okay with having the match in September 2026,” Anto Augustine, managing director of Reporter told Onmanorama.
Argentina are World Champions having won Messi is first World Cup in Qatar 2022. They now have a chance to defend the crown in the US in June next year. The visit to Kerala would come less than 9 months before the World Cup, and in between a packed football calendar. Augustine, however was adamant that a postponement would trigger huge financial losses.
“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. 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 added.
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