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The Kerala Sports Department has recommended a vigilance inquiry into the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government's efforts to bring football legend Lionel Messi and the Argentina national team to the state. In its report submitted to Chief Minister V D Satheesan, the department has also recommended that Central agencies examine the money trail linked to the proposed exhibition match and the contract with a private sponsor.
In 2024, then Sports Minister V Abdurahiman had announced that Messi and the Argentina team would visit Kerala for an exhibition match in Kochi in 2025. However, Messi's India tour in 2025 included only Kolkata, Hyderabad and Jamnagar.
The report, prepared by N Prasanth, Special Secretary in the Sports Department, found that the selection of the sponsor, Reporter Broadcasting Company (RBC), was carried out in a “non-transparent and arbitrary manner”. It also recommended an anti-money laundering examination by competent Central financial investigation agencies into the alleged foreign remittance of 15 million USD through TourProdEnter LLP, described in the report as a questionable foreign intermediary.
Speaking to reporters in Delhi, Sports Minister O J Janeesh said the issue was not merely whether the government had suffered a financial loss, but whether government machinery had been used to benefit a private entity.
“The question is not whether the government incurred financial loss. After allowing a private person to gain profit using government machinery, there is no point in checking whether the government has lost money. There were procedural lapses,” he said.
Janeesh also questioned the circumstances under which GoatAD became involved in the proposed event. He said the first email regarding the event came from the company, which had been incorporated only 20 days before the communication. GoatAD is an advertising and event-related company that became involved in the proposed Kerala exhibition match involving Lionel Messi and the Argentina football team.
“Has any inquiry been conducted into their experience in conducting such international events, their financial stability etc?” he asked.
The report has recommended that the Registrar of Companies under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, and if necessary, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), examine the source of capital and possible related-party links between RBC and GoatAd Global Limited. The report cited their shared address and business ecosystem as grounds for scrutiny.
The report also found that several steps were taken despite there being no formal agreement confirming Messi or the Argentina team's visit to Kerala.
It said a document submitted by the Argentine Football Association (AFA) was neither a formal commitment letter addressed to the Kerala government nor a legally binding assurance. The report described it as a brochure or commercial requirement sheet and said treating it as confirmation of the event and proceeding with further action was “wholly erroneous, contrary to facts and untruthful”.
The report flagged lapses in the government's decision to make the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kochi available to the sponsor without final confirmation of the match. It also questioned the then Chief Minister's decision to waive the stadium's security deposit, rent and other charges, which together were worth more than Rs 5 crore.
Questions were also raised over the financial viability of the proposed event. According to the report, the estimated expenditure was Rs 210 crore, while projected revenue was only Rs 82 crore, leaving a gap of Rs 128 crore. The AFA's match fee alone was reportedly estimated at Rs 198 crore.
Former Sports Minister V Abdurahiman, however, denied any procedural lapses in the deal with the AFA. He said the state government had not lost any money and claimed that the steps to bring the Argentina team to Kerala were taken after obtaining consent from the Union Finance and Sports Ministries.
Anto Augustine, Managing Director of RBC, also disputed the findings. He said the company had documents establishing its agreement with the AFA and claimed that the association had confirmed receipt of the payment and agreed to bring the team to Kerala for an exhibition match.
On questions regarding the intermediary, TourProdEnter LLP, Augustine said a Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) report on the firm's financial standing had been obtained and that no cases against the company were found.
Augustine said RBC had also approached the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) seeking recovery of the money paid to the AFA.
