SINGAPORE: The Argentina national football team, including eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, will visit Singapore in the first quarter of 2026 for an exhibition match.
The team will also play an exhibition match in India in October this year.
The matches are part of a new one-year partnership between the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and HSBC, the bank said on Wednesday (Mar 26).
“This collaboration bridges the worlds of banking and sport, marking the first time a banking institution has collaborated with the Argentine national football team in Singapore and India. Through this agreement, HSBC will hold branding and activation rights across the two countries,” said the bank.
“HSBC customers and partners will have access to exclusive perks, including tickets to Argentina’s matches, curated fan experiences and meet-and-greet opportunities with the football champions.”
AFA president Claudio Fabian Tapia said: “We are extremely pleased to have HSBC, Asia’s leading banking institution, as the new sponsor of the Argentine Football Association in India and Singapore.”
CNA has asked HSBC who Argentina will play against in the match in Singapore.
This is not the first time Messi would be visiting Singapore with the national team.
In 2017, he was due to play in a friendly after being promoted as one of the star attractions of the match.
However, hours after he landed in Singapore, he left the country to prepare for his wedding.
Match promoter Unicess Sports Group said then that they would not provide any refunds or forms of compensation.
Last year, Messi did not play in a friendly match in Hong Kong when he visited the city with his club, Inter Miami.
Fans paid up to nearly HK$5,000 (US$640) per ticket. Some demanded a refund.
The football star later cited a swelling in his adductor muscle as the reason for staying on the sidelines.
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