An inseparable feature of Argentine culture, football immersed itself in the campaign for the second electoral round that this Sunday will define the president between the Peronist Sergio Massa and the far-right Javier Milei. The latter’s proposal to transform the clubs into public limited companies has set the sector on fire in such a way that those affiliated with the Argentine Football Association (AFA) came out openly against the libertarian candidate. In the case of the players, practically all of them have opted for silence. Unlike what happened in Brazil, where in 2022 Neymar, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and other Brazilian stars announced their preferences for Jair Bolsonaro or Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, only one first division player has publicly spoken out in favor of a candidate.
Although it is a minor issue compared to the most disruptive points of Milei’s campaign, such as the denial of the State terrorism of the dictatorship, the regulation of the arms and organ markets, the dollarization of the economy or the rupture with the Vatican and the Chinese and Brazilian economies, the announcement of a drastic change to the structure of professional football clubs has raised blisters.
If he becomes president this Sunday, Milei anticipated that he will promote the arrival of public limited companies for sports institutions, a private capital model that is prohibited by law in Argentina, where clubs have operated for more than 100 years as non-profit civil companies. for-profit and are managed by elected leaders through the vote of their members.
“I like the English model, public limited companies, clubs that are listed on the stock market,” Milei declared in October 2022, when his political force, La Libertad Avanza, seemed far from the Presidency and there were two months left for the Albiceleste to win. the World Cup in Qatar. “Boca could be bought by Arab capital or River by French capital. What the fuck do you care whose it is? [el club] If you beat River 5 to 0 and you are world champion? Or do you prefer to continue in this misery, in this worse quality football? How do we do every time we leave Argentina?,” he said.
Milei insisted this week on the privatization model. “Why restrict the possibility of having clubs that are public limited companies? What if someone wants their club to be like Manchester City? What is the problem? “How does it affect the other institutions?” repeated the libertarian candidate in the hours before the second round. However, in tune with the attempt at moderation that he showed in recent weeks for his most extreme proposals, this time he clarified: “The clubs [también] They can continue as they are now, without problem. But does there have to be only one corporate structure scheme?”
The clubs’ response was lapidary against Milei. Largely due to its historical characteristic of not allowing private capital, but also guided by the leadership of the AFA, which maintains a good relationship with Massa, who in addition to being a candidate and minister has been the leader of the Tigre club, in the First Division, for 20 years. based in the city of that name, neighboring Buenos Aires.
From River Plate and Boca Juniors to the most humble teams of the Ascenso, more than 100 clubs spoke out on their social networks in opposition to public limited companies, which in practice meant a clear position against the libertarian candidate and his new partner politician, Mauricio Macri, the former president of Argentina and Boca who also advocates the arrival of private capital.
“Faithful to its origins, respectful of the clear principles defended for almost 120 years, Boca Juniors ratifies its character as a non-profit civil association and the premise that our club belongs to its people, members who make it more every day.” big”, published the official account. “Following the spirit of our founders, we reject public limited companies in Argentine football. The River Plate Atlético Club is a non-profit civil association, and will always belong to its members, who are the support of these 122 years of greatness,” agreed its classic rival.
The clubs, which in Argentina are not only football teams – they also offer spaces for various sporting activities and form a social fabric in the midst of the economic crisis – attract crowds not only on match days. The 28 teams that participate in the Professional League have 1.5 million members, 3% of the 46 million Argentine population, a percentage that does not include the rest of the supporters who are also fans of the different teams but without paying. the monthly fee.
Without private companies in charge of the clubs, the Argentine First Division League and the Promotion categories is an atypical case on the soccer world map. In South America, only Ecuador and Paraguay repeat this pattern. In the rest of the tournaments on the subcontinent, the two systems coexist, in some cases with a majority of private management and in others with autonomy.
In Brazil, only six of the 20 First Division teams are public limited companies, and not the most powerful. In Chile, the proportion is inverse: only two of the 16 Primera clubs are corporations, that is, clubs according to the Argentine name – the rest belong to companies. Something similar happens in Colombia: of the 20 Primera clubs, only two are outside of public limited companies. In Uruguay, of the 16 First Division teams, six respond to private capital. In Peru the traditional system wins: only four of the 18 Primera participants are managed by companies.
But beyond the defense of a model that has passed through generations of Argentines, that produces legitimate pride and that continues to generate good results – due to sporting successes and a generation of talented footballers –, the avalanche of tweets against Milei and Macri also It is explained in the open support of the president of the AFA (Argentine Football Association), Claudio Tapia, for the official candidate, Massa. “There will be an enormous challenge when it is your turn to lead this country,” the football leader encouraged the leader of Unión por la Patria last October, during the official announcement of the only match of the 2030 World Cup that Argentina will host.
However, the explicit interest of the leaders, which also has consequences in various clubs – Macri will present himself at the beginning of December as a candidate for vice president of Boca to try to displace the idol and current leader, Juan Román Riquelme –, did not continue in the players. Unlike his Brazilian colleagues, and also Diego Maradona, who used to make his political position clear, the vast majority of Argentine footballers almost did not participate in the campaign.
Only a handful of active soccer players, and only one from the First Division –Juan Cruz Komar, from Rosario Central–, signed a petition in favor of Massa’s candidacy. Also one of the 26 players on the world champion team, Lisandro Martínez – currently at Manchester United – gave him a I like on social networks to the article that, among other points, showed his opposition to the support that Milei gave to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, described as a “war murderer” for the war conflict in the Malvinas Islands in 1982.
In the press conference prior to last Thursday’s match against Uruguay for the 2026 Qualifiers – which the Celeste won 2 to 0 in La Bombonera – the Albiceleste coach, Lionel Scaloni, preferred not to answer when asked about a possible privatization of the clubs. “No, I’m not getting into that,” the coach replied. Macri, who in 1993 presented the first attempt at a public limited company in Argentine football in his role as a businessman, but later came to preside over Boca by the vote of the members, interpreted that response as a wink in favor of his political partner and congratulated him. : “Great Scaloni, who did not let himself be scared.”
At the same time, outside of professional football, thousands of neighborhood clubs across the country – where the 26 world champions began their careers in Qatar – are also alert for a possible triumph for Milei, who in different interviews assumed that If he is president, he will cut off the state subsidies for water and electricity that the institutions have. “Who finances them? “The membership fee is not enough,” he said, implying that they will also have to be privatized.
In the voice of the players or in statements from the clubs, on one side or the other of the ideological arc, baseball and soccer played in the Brazilian elections and will also do so in the Argentine ones. Almost like a nod to the calendar, Brazil-Argentina will face each other this Tuesday, two days after the elections, at the Maracaná for the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers.
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