Kolkata: Football legend Diego Maradona’s trip to Kolkata was postponed for a third time and the Argentine would now come to the ‘City of Joy’ on October 8 during the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Maradona was actually scheduled to arrive in Kolkata on October 2 and kick off a football conclave here on October 3, with a host of Indian celebrities before facing cricket icon Sourav Ganguly and his team in the much-hyped ‘match for unity’ in a stadium in Barasat on October 5.
Stating his ‘work obligations’ in UAE as the main reason behind the delay, Maradona has now announced that he will arrive on October 8 and will stay till October 10 to fulfill his commitments in Kolkata.
“To the people of Kolkata, I would like to tell you that due to my work obligations in the Arab Emirates, my visit to India on October 2 has been postponed,” he posted on his official Facebook page.
He also thanked the people and wished them well for the festive season, “I want to thank the authorities and all those who make possible my visit to their beloved country. See you soon #Kolkata, I wish you happy holidays!!!”
The Copa Presidente Tournament (its the King’s Cup in UAE) which was supposed to be held in the last week of October has now been pre-poned to October 4 and 6. As a reason the 56-year-old who is a coach of first-division club Al-Fujairah SC (that will participate in the King’s Cup) had to stay back in the in UAE on the instruction of King Sulaman.
However, this is not the first time it has been postponed. The World Cup winner was actually scheduled to visit on September 17, but was postponed to October 2.
“The match was shifted because of Muharram and Durga Puja immersion. Now the match will be a closed door affair, where entry is by invitation only,” Vivek Kumar Agarwal, founder of Dhulaiwala Group, who are the title sponsors for the event had announced.
The move if indeed materialises will now collide with the FIFA U-17 World Cup matches in Kolkata on October 8. England take on Chile, while Iraq face Mexico on the same day in Kolkata.