Kerala considers multi-agency probe after failed bid to bring Argentina and Messi to Kochi
Kerala’s state government said on August 14 it is weighing a multi-agency investigation into the previous LDF administration’s unsuccessful attempt to bring the Argentina national football team and Lionel Messi to Kochi for an international friendly, after a Sports Department inquiry report was submitted earlier this month. Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan told reporters the report contained "very serious allegations".
The effort to host Argentina began publicly in July 2023 when then Sports Minister V. Abdurahiman announced the team would probably play two exhibition matches in Kochi in 2025; the plan was repeatedly postponed and the Argentina Football Association’s itinerary released in May 2025 made no mention of Kerala or any Indian stop. Sports Department Special Secretary N. Prasanth led the investigation into the matter and forwarded his findings to the new government in August.
The inquiry report alleges financial irregularities running into crores of rupees, identifies several procedural lapses and recommends investigation by "competent investigative agencies" to determine potential criminal, financial and regulatory violations and to fix responsibility. The sponsor, Reporter Broadcasting Company (RBC), claims it paid $15 million (₹126 crore at the time) to the AFA; the inquiry, however, found no documentary evidence that the payment was actually remitted and located no record of a formal agreement between the State government and the AFA or between the government and the sponsor.
A private firm, Gold and Global of Kalamassery, wrote to the government in July 2023 offering to bring the Argentina team to Kerala at its own cost; the inquiry states the company was incorporated only days before sending the letter, had a capital of ₹1 lakh and allegedly shared the same address as RBC. The report describes "serious procedural lapses" in how the organiser and sponsor were chosen, saying mandatory steps such as inviting expressions of interest and conducting a public tender were bypassed and that the relevant government order on selection could not be found in the files.
The probe found that RBC signed an agreement with the AFA on December 20, 2024, four days before a Sports Department order noted that steps had been initiated to bring the Argentina team to Kerala. The Sports Kerala Foundation, a not-for-profit company under the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs, was later appointed to oversee the project and the sponsor was permitted to organise two exhibition matches, but the inquiry records that neither RBC nor the State government had signed an agreement or memorandum of understanding for the proposed visit.
Investigators also reported gaps in the documentary trail: copies of emails purportedly sent from Abdurahiman’s official account to AFA officials Leandro Petersen and Pablo J Diaz have surfaced yet several such messages are missing from government files. The report flags the minister’s private secretary for allegedly bypassing senior officials while conveying instructions related to the proposed visit.
The stadium arrangement and renovations are a central strand of the controversy. Argentina had been scheduled to play an international friendly at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on November 25, 2025, but the match was called off; RBC later said the team would visit during the March 2026 international window and then went silent. The Greater Cochin Development Authority was criticised for handing the stadium to the sponsor for renovation without a formal agreement; RBC returned the venue on November 28, 2025, initially claiming renovations worth ₹70 crore before the figure was reduced to around ₹25 crore, a sum GCDA chairman K. Chandran Pillai described as "amorphous" and "subjective".
RBC managing director Anto Augustine has said the company possesses the agreement and proof of payment but declined to disclose them owing to their 'non-disclosure' nature and the ongoing litigation in international court of arbitration; he has challenged assertions about Gold and Global’s address and rejected the claim that the GST department issued a summons seeking ₹22.68 crore in tax in connection with the claimed ₹126-crore transaction. The Sports Department has recommended further inquiry by the Vigilance and central agencies, and the state government is considering a probe that would examine how the sponsor was selected, the ₹126-crore payment claim and whether funds were transferred, the official correspondence and the AFA agreement, and the handing over of the stadium.