West Bengal CM Assures Refund Of Messi’s Event To 33,000 Fans

 West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has assured refunds for around 33,000 fans who purchased tickets for the chaotic Lionel Messi event at Yuva Bharati Stadium in Kolkata in December 2025.

At the National Sports Day function held at Nabanna, Adhikari said the state government has begun the process of refunding the money collected from the ticket holders at Rs 4,000 and Rs 6,000 respectively.

The event was attended by Messi while he was in Kolkata on December 13, 2025, which quickly turned chaotic. The result of this led to protest and vandalism at the stadium, with fans calling for refunds due to the ‘mis-management’ of the programme.

Adhikari said he was keen that the affected fans get their money back, and that the process will be completed.

The Chief Minister also announced a wider plan for development of sports infrastructure in West Bengal. The state has allocated Rs 400 crore for the sports sector. He remarked that, “this is not a full-year budget but one covering eight months.”

Under the proposed plan, mini indoor stadiums equipped with facilities such as tennis and badminton courts and gymnasiums will be developed across the state’s 294 assembly constituencies. Adhikari said 100 such facilities would be constructed during the current year as building all 294 in a single year would not be feasible.

He also took aim at the previous regime, saying the previous ruling government neglected sport infrastructure and that some documents for appointments of some athletes have been pending for years. While criticising, he remarked, “You would be surprised to know that the paperwork for many of the athletes who received appointment letters today had been gathering dust in the Chief Minister’s office for 11 years.”

Adhikari said that West Bengal possessed a very rich sporting talent but the state did not have the infrastructure, institutional support and political will to nurture it. The government was looking for a comprehensive change in the sports environment of the state and to minimise the political influence on sports organisations, he added.

Former hockey player Gurbux Singh, Sports Minister Indranil Khan, All India Football Federation president Kalyan Chaubey and various other dignitaries attended the National Sports Day event to commemorate Major Dhyan Chand’s birth anniversary. During the programme several athletes were awarded with appointment letters and were being felicitated.