Kochi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, it is.
World Cup winners Argentina’s friendlies in Kerala will be played at the home ground of the ISL side, Kerala Blasters, instead of the Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram as initially announced.
The Kerala government, or the office of state Sports Minister V. Abdurahiman, is expected to confirm it officially soon.
Though the official confirmation is yet to come, Malayala Manorama and Kairali News confirmed that the JLN Stadium in Kochi, also known as the Kaloor Stadium, will be the venue, as it is the only international-level football stadium in the state. It had hosted the men’s U-17 FIFA World Cup in 2017.
The state-of-the-art Greenfield Stadium in the state capital was ruled out because of the presence of cricket pitches.
There were several hiccups ever since Messi's visit to Kerala was announced last year. Earlier in August this year, Abdurahiman had said that Argentina would not be coming to Kerala as they had informed the official sponsors that they were facing difficulties in visiting the state.
However, after months of speculation, the Argentina Football Association officially confirmed on August 23 that a full-strength team, led by Lionel Messi, will play international friendlies (two, reportedly) in Kerala between November 10 and 18. Their opponents for the fixtures are yet to announced.
Messi last played in India in 2011, when Argentina and Venezuela played an international friendly at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata, with the match ending in a goalless draw.
