The speed and synchronization with which dozens of clubs of all categories expressed themselves last Saturday against the creation of the Sports Joint Stock Companies (SAD) made it very clear the conclusive political dominance that the president of the AFA, Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia, currently plays Argentine soccer. Unlike Julio Grondona, who always tried to keep the entity equidistant from the different political contingencies of the country, Tapia did not hesitate to take sides and align the most relevant institutions of Primera and Ascenso in favor of non-profit civil societies. profit and against the incorporation of private capital. Which is the same as saying in favor of the presidential candidacy of Sergio Massa and against that of Javier Milei.
Tapia plays politics in depth because he has what he has to offer: Qatar’s World Cup feat, the 52 million dollars he brought to distribute along with the World Cup, his privileged relationship with Lionel Messi and the splendid moment that the Argentine National Team is going through have granted him a back that the San Juan leader lacked when in 2017 he sat for the first time in the presidential chair of the AFA. Tapia also learned to play on other courts where he did not play before: without going any further, on October 27 he met in Montevideo with the presidents of Argentina (Alberto Fernández), Uruguay (Luis Lacalle Pou) and Paraguay (Santiago Peña) and the head of Conmebol (Alejandro Domínguez) to start working on the organization of the three opening matches of the 2030 World Cup.
Furthermore, the head of the AFA tries to anticipate the historical opportunism of Argentine soccer leaders accustomed to moving their chips with the results in hand. Getting along with the political power in power and having easy access to official offices to obtain tax reductions or reliefs, favors or simply fresh money has always been seen by the leaders themselves, partners and fans as a sign of cunning and/or intelligence. Tapia goes against all that and urges the clubs to raise their flag based on the idea that with Massa everything will be better and with Milei, much worse.
Only one club avoided the statement: Talleres de Córdoba did not join the movement and once again remained the only First Division team that does not give explicit support to non-profit civil societies. It is known that its president, Andrés Fassi, agrees with the sports corporation model in force in Mexican soccer (in fact he is director of FC Juárez in that country’s league). But he also has very different ideas than Tapia regarding how to manage Argentine football. Fassi is perhaps the only truly opposition leader in the AFA. But for now he is isolated. The rest, more out of convenience than true conviction, play increasingly closer to “Chiqui” Tapia. Who these days in Argentine football is the owner of the power, all the power. And he knows how to prove it.
2023-11-14 03:01:00
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