BUENOS AIRES.- Amidst the celebrations for the conquest of the Copa America, the far-right president Javier Miley moved towards a paradigm shift in the Argentine football by allowing private capital to enter sports clubs under the form of public limited companies, a measure that does not have the approval of the Argentine Football Association (AFA).
“The participation of civil associations and foundations as shareholders in corporations and the transformation of civil associations into corporations should be accepted; as well as the registration of entities for the common good established abroad for the development of their activity in the Argentine Republic should be simplified,” according to the text of the official resolution published on Tuesday in the Official Gazette.
In terms of football, this measure conflicts with the statutes of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), which requires clubs to be established as non-profit civil associations in order to compete in leagues of the different categories.
“Nothing has changed. AFA maintains its statute that prohibits SADs,” said the entity’s treasurer, Pablo Toviggino, on the social network X, which is so far the only official reaction to the government measure. “Why don’t they report the global failure that it means for sports entities!!! They live a constant fantasy. There are no dollars in SADs, only poverty and misery.”
The entry of private capital into Argentine football was a campaign promise of Milei and gained new momentum on the eve of the Copa America final, in which Argentina beat Colombia 1-0 on Sunday in Miami. The president posted on social network X that the starting players of the Albiceleste play in European clubs that are public limited companies.
“If AFA is against sports corporations, why does it allow the starting lineup to come from these corporations?”, asked Milei, who before beginning his economics studies played as a goalkeeper in the lower categories of the Chacarita club. “Could it be that results are important and the SADs (sports corporations) have the best? No more poor socialism (sic) in football.”
After taking office in December, the far-right president had published a decree deregulating the economy that in one of its articles authorized sports corporations, but the courts suspended its application based on a presentation by the authorities of a provincial league with AFA endorsement.
According to treasurer Toviggino, right-hand man of AFA president Claudio Tapia, “the federal judicial measure is in force.”
Milei’s government returned to the fray on Tuesday by implementing a new regulatory body for the General Inspection of Justice – the body in charge of regulating the operation of civil and commercial companies – in response to “the systematic obstruction of the registration and operation of companies established under the type of Simplified Joint Stock Companies (SAS), despite the fact that this type of company is enshrined, authorized and admitted by a national law.”
The government argued that “in order to correct the terminal crisis facing the Argentine economy and to avert the serious risk of an even greater and much more serious deterioration of the social and economic situation… foreign investment is crucial, especially in the case of emerging countries seeking development, since the aforementioned investment acts as a significant driver for economic growth and the modernization of their infrastructures.”
Waiting for a response from the AFA:
AFA did not comment on Tuesday’s resolution, but some time ago it warned clubs that they would be disaffiliated if they became sports corporations.
“It is always good to remember that it is an option, not an obligation,” said presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni at a press conference on Tuesday. “There are times when freedom generates fear, after so many years of oppression, freedom generates fear, it would be good if they simply had the ability to choose or if the partners chose the best destiny for their associations.”
Argentina is one of the few countries in South America that does not accept corporations in football, although it does allow management – the privatization of professional football.
According to Milei, several foreign investors were waiting for this change in the regulations on corporations to invest in Argentine football. He mentioned in particular the owners of Chelsea and Manchester City in England.
Source: AP