[1]When Lionel Messi and the star-studded Argentinian team play in India, the fans here in Malappuram will not be able to sit back and watch the game just on the television screen.
Two groups of football fans in Malappuram have already booked their tickets for the Argentina vs Venezuela game to be played at the Salt Lake Stadium on September 2.
“We will be leaving on Wednesday afternoon by train to Kolkata. We are all fans of Argentina and cannot wait to watch the game. We have booked the tickets online and will be watching the match at the stadium,” says Afsal Babu, secretary of CASC club near Aravankara in Malappuram.
A total of six members from the club are going to Kolkata for the match.
“One of the major problem we had was that the match was happening very close to Eid-Ul-Fitr. However, we have decided to celebrate Eid-Ul-Fitr by watching Messi play on the ground live. This would be a great opportunity for us and a dream come true. We do not want to miss such a chance” says Afsal.
Along with Afsal, Illias, Fahad, Kumar Babu, Sathar and Rishal will be travelling to Kolkata to watch the big match.
Another six-member group from Tirurangady will also leave on Wednesday to Kolkata to watch the game.
“We are a group of fans of England, Spain and Argentina. But, though we have difference in allegiance to various teams, what unites us is Lionel Messi . If we do not watch his game now, we will never be able to,” says Faisal P.
“We consider Argentina playing in India as the biggest festival to happen for us. We had booked tickets one month ago online,” he says.
Other fans going to Kolkata are Azeez P., Faizal A., Ismail A., Anwar M. and Uvais V.P.
Links:
[1] http://archive.asianage.com/argjpgcropdisplayjpg-517