India, Nov. 21 -- Lionel Messi is likely to come to India. Again. Not to Kolkata this time but Kerala.Kerala's sports minister V Abdurahiman said on Wednesday that the Argentina national football team, including its talismanic skipper, is expected to visit the state and play an international friendly next year.The statement was made following discussions between the state's sports ministry led by Abdurahiman and the Argentine Football Association (AFA) in Madrid last September. Kerala chief minister Pinayari Vijayan also made a similar announcement through a Facebook post."The world's number 1 football team Argentina including Lionel Messi will visit Kerala next year. The match will be held under the complete supervision of the state government. The state's traders have promised to provide financial assistance to conduct the match," Abdurahiman told reporters.The minister said the AFA officials will visit Kerala in the next one-and-a half months to hold further talks. Asked when the team including Messi are likely to visit and who they will play against, the minister said:

"Those details will be chalked out later. The match will have to be conducted as per the FIFA window for international friendlies." Kochi is one of the options to host the match, Abdurahiman said.The chief minister said the visit of the Argentine team would be an acknowledgement of the state's love for the sport.Assembly elections in Kerala is slated for early 2026.Kerala boasts of a massive fan base of the Argentina football team, particularly Messi. Celebrations had broken out in various parts of the state in 2022 when the team under Messi lifted the World Cup in Qatar.This will be Messi's second visit to India. In September 2011, he had come with the Argentina team to play a friendly against Venezuela in Kolkata. That friendly, which Argentina won 1-0 through Nicolas Otamedi's goal, was also the first time Messi had worn the captain's armband.The journey that began at Salt Lake stadium has seen Messi, 37, win Copa America and the World Cup. Messi is not the first from the World Cup winning team to visit India. Emiliano Martinez, the Argentina goalkeeper instrumental in them winning the World Cup in Qatar, was. Martinez visited Kolkata in July 2023.

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