World soccer powerhouse Argentina will travel to Israel to play a friendly match between the national teams despite pressure from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign to cancel the game, The Jerusalem Post reported Monday.

The BDS movement, which promotes the boycott of Israel, launched a campaign “Argentina don’t go,” or #ArgentinaNoVayas in Spanish, to prevent superstar Lionel Messi and his team from playing the match in the Jewish State.

Other tactics used included letters sent from the Argentinean Committee of Solidarity with Palestine to the Argentinean National Secretary of Sports and the Argentine Football Association, saying that calling off the match “would represent the solidarity values ​​of the Argentine people towards other people’s victims of oppression, apartheid and genocide.”

The game, which is scheduled for June 9, does not yet have a venue although it will likely be played at the Teddy Kollek Stadium in Jerusalem or the Samy Ofer Stadium in Haifa.

Messi and other famous soccer players, including Sergio “Kun” Aguero and Angel Di Maria are expected to play in the match. The team will then fly to Russia for the World Cup.

Messi, who is the captain of the Argentine national team, expressed his excitement for the trip, “I really want to visit the Holy Land and for Argentina this will be an important professional and spiritual journey and I’m convinced that coming to Israel ahead of the World Cup will do us good.”

In 2013, Messi traveled to Israel with his Barcelona team, visited the Western Wall and met with several Israeli leaders.

Late last year, Messi was hired by Israeli startup Sirin Labs to be its brand ambassador.

[Photo: GugaTV / YouTube]