Lionel Messi and the Argentinian football national team will go to India for an exhibition match at Kerala in October 2025, marking their return after 14 years.
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New Delhi: Football fans in India will have another overview of Lionel Messi and his Argentine team during an exhibition match in Kerala in October, 14 years after the winner of the World Cup visited the country for the first time.
In November of last year, Kerala Minister of Sports, V Abdurahiman, announced the news of Argentina visiting the state of the South and played two friendly matches in Kochi.
On Wednesday, HSBC India became the official partner of the Argentine team to collaborate and promote football in India, and announced that the match will be held in October.
“As part of this partnership, the Argentina’s national football team, including the legendary Lionel Messi player, will go to India for an international exhibition match in October 2025,” said HSBC India.
“Argentina Football Association (AFA) and HSBC announced today the signing of a new one -year partnership for India and Singapore, covering the competitive season in 2025 before the quality matches of the 2026 World Cup qualification.”
Messi’s first visit to India was playing a World Cup qualification match against Venezuela in Kolkata in September 2011. Argentina won this 1-0 match at Salt Lake Stadium.
Sandeep Batra, International Head of Wealth and Riche Banque HSBC India, said: “While we join one of the most revered teams in the world of football, we are impatient to create unforgettable experiences for fans and customers, and support the Argentine team in their trip to the 2026 World Cup.” The president of Argentina Football Association, Claudio Fabian Tapia, said: “A new step has been taken for the international expansion of the AFA, opening up new opportunities with HSBC both in India and Singapore.
“This agreement takes care of our team and we are impatient to consolidate our agreement and extend in several regions as we are progressing in 2025 and 2026. We welcome HSBC as a new partner of the Argentine national team.”
