Kolkata, Jul 9: The All India Football Federation today tried to put an end to confusion surrounding the high profile International friendly between Argentina and Venezuela to be played here, saying a few decks needed to be cleared so that Lionel Messi could be seen in action on September 2.
AIFF general secretary Kushal Das said that the FIFA did a ‘mistake' by posting the details of the match on its website since the friendly was yet to be sanctioned by the world governing body.
“There is no reason why the match would not be held. But FIFA has done a mistake by putting the details on the website, something they have admitted,” Das said.
“Event manager Celebrity Management Group (CMG) will write us a letter about the match highlighting the details about the progress and then we will officially invite the Argentine and Venezuelan federations. Only then an official sanction from FIFA will be granted.
“For the first time we are hosting a match at such a big scale. We want to examine everything so that it's conducted smoothly. The right process has to be followed,” he added.
After a prolonged meeting with CMG and Indian Football Association (IFA) officials, Das also expressed concerns over the sorry state of affairs at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan that needed to be revamped urgently.
The AIFF general secretary also pointed out that the artificial turf at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan, where the match would be held, have to be improved on an urgent basis.
“Improving the turf is a priority. But at the same time there are some other areas like the logistical support, ground condition, security, crowd and media management, which will also be our concern,” he said. PTI
