More questions, fewer answers, says Kerala Minister on previous LDF govt’s Messi episode

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 12 (IANS) Kerala Sports Minister O.J. Janeesh on Wednesday hinted that the controversial Messi episode could have several more twists in store, saying several things still had to come out as the government began examining the circumstances surrounding the failed project.

With fresh documents pointing to questions about the sponsor selection and the then government’s role in the agreement, the issue is set to come under sharper scrutiny at Thursday’s Cabinet meeting.

“There are a lot of things that have to come out,” Janeesh told the media, making it clear that the government was not inclined to draw the curtains on the controversy yet.

He also pointed to the lack of transparency in the selection of the sponsor, raising questions about how a private company came to be associated with a project built around Lionel Messi’s proposed Kerala visit.

The controversy has acquired a new dimension with the emergence of an email sent by former Sports Minister V. Abdurahiman to the AFA on October 18, 2025, strongly defending the sponsor and protesting the cancellation of the agreement.

Abdurahiman argued that the AFA-RBC arrangement was not merely a commercial contract but an assurance backed by the Kerala government.

“AFA-RBC is not merely a commercial agreement. It is an assurance given at the initiative of the government. 1.3 billion people trusted the Kerala government,” the former minister said in the communication, maintaining that the agreement carried the trust of an entire country.

The email has also brought into focus the extent to which the government had committed itself to the deal, even as questions are now being raised over the very structure of the project.

A report by the Sports Department’s Special Secretary submitted to the V.D. Satheesan government on Tuesday has added to concerns.

It reportedly describes the project as having an unusual structure that enabled a private company to profit by using government machinery.

The report notes the absence of clear government orders explaining the selection of a TV news channel and suggests that the project ultimately amounted to Rs 126 crore, involving a foreign-exchange transaction

The government on Thursday will take the call and, in all likelihood, a high-level inquiry into alleged corruption and violations of rules.

The Cabinet meeting on Thursday is expected to take a closer look at the findings and decide the way forward, potentially opening a wider investigation into how the Messi project was conceived, approved and executed, but failed to materialise.

–IANS

sg/dpb