The All India Football Federation (AIFF) turned down the chance to host Lionel Messi's National football team Argentina for a friendly during the June international window due to the high cost involved.
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) had approached the AIFF with a proposal to play a match in India, but the AIFF said that it was unable to afford the appearance fee that Argentina would have demanded. According to a report by Times of India, Argentina would have charged between $4 million and $5 million (Rs 32-40 crore) to play a friendly in India which is much more than what the football association can afford at this point in time.
The AIFF secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran told the news daily that it would have been possible to arrange the match if it had had the backing of a strong sponsor, but no such sponsor came forward. The decision to reject the match has been met with disappointment by some fans, who were eager to see Messi play in India. However, the AIFF said that it had to make the decision based on its financial constraints.
Argentina's plan was to play two friendlies in South Asia - one in India and one in Bangladesh. However, both plans did not materialise as both the countries could not raise the necessary funds at short notice. However, Argentina played two friendlies in June, one which was against Australia in Beijing on June 15 and second in Indonesia in Jakarta on June 19.
Argentina's Match In India
The Argentina football team has played in India once before. In 2011, they played a friendly against Venezuela at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. The match was won by Argentina 1-0, with Lionel Messi, who was the captain, scoring the only goal. The match was attended by a crowd of over 85,000 people which was a memorable experience for them.
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