Lionel Messi's much-awaited India tour would have seen him play a friendly today
The friendly against Australia was supposed to take place in Kochi, Kerala
Messi recently scored and assisted during Argentina's 2-0 win over Angola amid much fanfare
If all things had gone well, then Lionel Messi's Argentina would have played a friendly match against Australia in Kochi, Kerala exactly today. However, due to a delay in permission from FIFA's end, Messi and company's much-awaited tour of India got cancelled.
On October 25, it was officially confirmed that Indian football fans, unfortunately, will have to wait longer to get a glimpse of the 8-time Ballon D'or winner in action.
Kerala's Sports Minister V. Abdurahiman had announced via social media platform X - that Argentina will be playing two friendly matches from November 10 to 18 in Angola and India against unspecified opponents.
However, just a month later, event sponsor Anto Augustine took to his official Facebook page and confirmed that the friendly match between Argentina and Australia in Kochi on November 17 would not go through as it was originally planned.
He reasoned that due to the delay in receiving permission from FIFA and after thorough meetings with the Argentina Football Association (AFA), the friendly was pushed to the subsequent international window.
"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." - Anto Augustine wrote on Facebook.
All of this happened after officials from the AFA visited the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi to inspect the facilities around the venue and whether the international standards have been met for hosting a friendly match.
Had Lionel Messi visited India, his itinerary was set to dazzle fans in Kolkata, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and New Delhi. Adding to the high-profile nature of the visit, some reports suggested he was also looking forward to meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The 38-year-old recently played a friendly match in Angola against their national team and scored a 82nd minute to goal to help Argentina win 2-0.
The visuals outside the stadium, in which the match took place, was incredible as thousands of fans gathered to see the great man himself.
Just imagine how the scenes would look like when he finally lands in India. But when will that happen? Time will tell.
