The streaming broadcast of the draw for the areas of Professional League 2026 It took more than an hour. Beyond organizational issues, the leaders of the first division met with the president of the AFA, Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia. The pretext was the meeting of the executive committee of the highest category of Argentine football. The leader of San Juan seized the opportunity to defend himself “Everything achieved” in eight years at the helm of the AFA.
Tapia, who has been taking photos with us in the last few days Alejandro Dominguez -the president of Conmebol- and Gianni Infantino -Top manager of FIFA-, but not with Lionel MessiHe seized the moment. Without the presence of Students of La Plata (the most opposing club), yet Córdoba workshops (who was on the other side until a few months ago) the manager talked about all his successes. “He told how they found the AFA, how the money received was not distributed among the clubs, what the percentages of television were and everything else They didn’t come to the clubs“ recalled a leader who attended the meeting in Ezeiza this Wednesday.
The “Downline” It was a kind of “remembrance and compensation” of the eight years of management, if there were any forgetful manager I couldn’t remember where Argentine football was in March 2017 when Tapia was in the chair. Julio Humberto Grondona. “Tapia made his request (Pablo) Toviggino sit next to him. They graphically depicted the change in management of the AFA since their arrival. Of course there was a mention of this Lionel Scaloni and the world champion team,” added another manager, always away from the microphone.
The breakdown of what had been achieved ultimately seemed like a veiled admonition to the leaders. The goal of Tapia and Toviggino is that his fellow leaders Come to “defend management” to maintain everything important that they believe has been done so far. That Tapia defense a letter attached which they were saving for later but which they wanted to share with the Professional League clubs. It’s about a multi-page statement in which all sporting and institutional successes of this government are listed in detail. And those too seven court cases in which Tapia and the AFA were fired in recent years. After reading each point, a sarcastic question came: “Is it approved?”. It was a joke about the (non)choice of the title “League Champion”. Central rosary at the last meeting of the League’s Executive Committee, held a few days ago in Puerto Madero.
The AFA will play this card on social networks when it deems it appropriate, as it did a few days ago by getting the clubs to play in defense of the “Tapia management” – especially with a view to promotion. It is one of the so-called Football “antibodies” to defend a management when public opinion questions it. The leaders, on the other hand, support it. The referees also supported her. Union of Sports Arbiters of Argentina (UADA). On Tuesday evening, the AFA president was the guest of honor at the union’s New Year’s Eve party. and gave a speech almost political. More words, less words, he wondered “how was it possible” that for two news channels (TN and LN+) the only important thing happening in the country is his management at the helm of the AFA.
Already on Wednesday, the president of the AFA in Ezeiza appeared less belligerent towards his leadership colleagues and informed them Details of his last tour of the United Stateswhere he was present at the draw for the next World Cup as a member of the FIFA Council. He then traveled to Miami to attend the game that established that city’s Inter as MLS Cup champions Lionel Messi And Rodrigo DePaul like banners. And finally he went to the American President’s Mar-a-Lago condo, Donald Trump. There he took part in an event honoring the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
How he was able to reconstruct THE NATIONTapia said U.S. officials had “warned” him about the Javier Milei government’s plans with the AFA. He shared the idea of Casa Rosada with the rest of the leaders “Appoint a CEO to lead the AFA” – that is, to a manager and not to a “football” manager – namely the Argentine government “He goes to the clubs”. The information was used by the AFA president to remind the Professional League leadership “what’s important” which turns out to be a defense of the successes achieved by the current management.
In another part of his lengthy argument, Tapia referred to the television rights of the First National and B Metropolitan. “The Clarín group knows that we will not give them away under any circumstances. That’s why the tapas against the AFA,” he explained in the presence of the directors of the first division clubs. Strictly speaking, the contract is between Tele Red Imagen SA – a company 50% owned by Clarín and the production company Torneos – ends at the end of this year and The AFA has already announced its idea for a call for tenders. The bottom line is that negotiations between the company and the parent company of Argentine football continue.
For now, no one dares to say on which screen the games in the two most important promotion categories will be broadcast. At this Wednesday’s meeting it was also decided that from now on the meetings of the Executive Board of the Professional League will be recorded. Nothing was decided on the distribution of the conclaves, but it was determined there is footage to resolve any disputes regarding possible coordination or mergers. Tapia Management He doesn’t want to know anything about another “student case”..
Unlike other times, after Tapia’s speech before the draw of zones there was no applause. There wasn’t one either “squeeze” or a conditioning of Tapia and Toviggino towards the clubs. Rather, as personal sources indicate, it was one “Memory” so that they don’t miss it – especially at this moment – the performance of the management in these eight years.
There was no self-criticism either.. Not even a discursive handbrake. On the contrary, the two most powerful leaders in Argentine football they remain convinced of the chosen course. “I saw her as unchanging,” another leadership source said. There are those who think that the government and the AFA are similar. And that there are two systems “shortly before the crash”. “Neither one nor the other brakes in the curves,” they say. Or rather, warn them.
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