The history of Argentine football has episodes everywhere, and one of the great structures occurred in the mid-1960s, when the Argentine Football Association ended up “benefiting” Estudiantes de la Plata, but also Barracas Central, Deportivo Ristra, Tigre, and Central Córdoba, among others. While the panorama today shows a trend towards “favouring” the power teams, an error on the part of the association at that time led to the absorption of approximately 20 clubs.
It all started with a sporting relegation (not like during the Peronist era, the only relegation in the team’s history until what happened in 1994): the relegation of 1963. The average table at that time – which added the seasons of 1961, 1962 and 1963 – left Estudiantes with 66 units, an insufficient number in a championship consisting of only 14 teams. The defeat on 10 November 1963 at Villa Crespo, 2-1 against Atalanta, sealed the fall. The last match in the Primera Division was played on 24 November in Liniers, when Pincha beat Velez 2-1 with two goals scored by Pedro Prospetti.
There, the descent was final: one descended, the other ascended. But in Rosario there was a conflict brewing that would change everything. Newell’s had been suing the AFC for two years over the promotion that should have been achieved in 1961, and was frustrated by the incentive penalty. When the trial was about to be decided in favor of the Leprechauns, the situation became complicated because Ferro had already been promoted for her 1963 campaign. If Newell’s were to advance and Ferro could not be relegated, a tournament would be created with an odd number of teams and an imbalance that was impossible to maintain.
To resolve this situation, the Asian Football Confederation called a meeting that did not order the chaos, but rather multiplied it. On the night of April 14, 1964, after a fourth recess that began on April 10, the leaders made decisions that went down in history due to the heinous nature of this action.
Within hours, amid pressure from every category, massive promotions were approved: no less than seventeen teams rose to the top of the division without playing. Newell’s regained her place in Primera. In addition, relegation was suspended until 1966, allowing Estudiantes – Primera A, Tigre, Central Cordoba, Paracas Central, and Deportivo Ristra – to advance.
From C to B, All Boys, Almagro, Colón, Defensores de Belgrano, Excursionistas, Talleres, El Porvenir and Argentino de Quilmes were promoted. From D to C were the Browns of Adrogué, Comunicaciones, Estudiantes de Buenos Aires, Fénix, JJ de Urquiza, and Sacachispas. The scene reached the point of absurdity when two lower-ranking leaders ended up beating each other up to demand promotion.
The chaos unleashed by the Argentine Football Association led to the swell of the championship and the emergence of a 20-team Serie A in 1966, with subsequent rearrangements. The rest period allowed Estudiantes to rearrange themselves: after two stable seasons in 1964 and 1965, they added 41 points in 1966, and in 1967 the sporting revolution began that led them to become champions and break the dominance of the big boys.