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Argentina Football Association opens Middle East office in Dubai

But the world champions have not signed a deal yet with Kerala government for next year's international friendly in India

Published: Fri 27 Dec 2024, 5:13 PM

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Leandro Petersen, Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer of the Argentinian Football Association, in Dubai on Friday. — Photo by Neeraj Murali

Leandro Petersen, Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer of the Argentinian Football Association, in Dubai on Friday. — Photo by Neeraj Murali

World champions Argentina have taken the next step in their global football expansion plans by opening their Middle East office in Dubai on Friday.

Leandro Petersen, Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer of the Argentinian Football Association, said the Middle East holds a special place in Argentina’s heart after the country’s famous 2022 World Cup win in Qatar.


The Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina ended their 36-year wait for World Cup triumph with a dramatic win over France in an epic final at the Qatar World Cup.

The Middle East is now a top priority for the football association of Argentina, according to Petersen.

“We have started expanding the AFA brand in 2017. We have been working hard in China, that was out first destination. So China and Asia is a very important market for us for the revenue and the growth of AFA brand,” Petersen told the Khaleej Times during an interview on Friday.

“The second step was in India. As you know, in India we have millions of fans of Argentina national team, fans of Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi. But in India, it’s not just Maradona and Messi, Argentina has a great history there and you will also find fans of (Gabriel) Batistuta, (Juan Sebastian) Veron. So, India is a very important market for us.

“And the third step is the Middle East. And that’s why we are in Dubai today. For us the Middle East is very important because we won the World Cup here in Qatar. This was a historic moment for our country and our federation. So, we are very happy to open our new office in this region.”

Last month Indian media reported that the Argentina national team featuring Lionel Messi would play an international friendly in Kerala.

But Petersen said on Friday the Argentine football association still hasn’t signed the deal with the Kerala government for the match next year.

“We are still in negotiations with Kerala government, we have a good relationship with the sports minister of Kerala. I wish that our team can go to Kerala next year and play (the friendly international match),” he said.

“It will be very good for us and Kerala. I know our fans in India are waiting for Messi and our team to arrive in 2025. But the deal is not done yet, we are still in talks with the Kerala government.”

While Argentina fans in India face an anxious wait for the international friendly, the Argentine football association’s Middle East expansion will help the game grow at the grassroots level in this region.

“Under our association, we have so many football academies around the world in places like Miami, Spain, Colombia, India and next will be the Middle East,” Petersen said.

“We have a special way of training young footballers, and as you know, we have some of the world’s best coaches in Lionel Scaloni, Marcelo Bielsa, Diego Simeone and Javier Mascherano who is now the head coach of Inter Miami.

“So, our AFA football project is a very big project. We expect to have more academies around the world and we have a very big project in the Middle East for academies.”



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