Argentina Football Team’s Visit to Kerala: Sports Minister Confirms, Football Association Unaware

2024-01-04 07:33:01
Thiruvananthapuram/Malappuram ∙ Sports Minister V. Abdur Rahiman stated that the Argentina football team will be coming to Kerala for a match. However, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the Kerala Football Association have not received any official information regarding this. AIFF Acting Secretary General Sathyanarayanan mentioned that he was not aware of the state government’s invitation and Argentina Football Federation’s interest. The state government needs to inform the AIFF through the state football association if FIFA ranked teams want to play in the country. The AIFF is responsible for ensuring the facilities for the visiting teams. International standards of ground, training facilities, accommodation, travel, and security should be ensured. If Argentina football team comes to play in Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram or Kochi will be the venue. This is because FIFA quality training grounds should be prepared for both the teams. The main venue should also conform to FIFA standards. After Qatar won the World Cup, Argentina expressed interest in playing in India, but the plan was abandoned after they demanded Rs 40 crore. Then the state government started trying to bring Argentina to Kerala. After the legendary World Cup title victory in Qatar, Messi and his team played a friendly match against Indonesia and Australia. The Argentina team paid Rs 35-40 crores for the two matches. If the Argentina team, including Lionel Messi, is to play in Kerala, there are many ways to generate income. Lionel Messi played his first match as Argentina captain in Kolkata in 2011, and the organizers were able to collect more than Rs 5 crores through ticket sales.
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