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| AFA president Julio Grondona |
A few days ago the Argentine Football Association announced that, as of the 2012 season, it would merge its first and second division tournaments in order to create a 'super' tournament of 40 teams. The move comes in the aftermath of a complicated juncture for the AFA which includes the utter failure of the national team in this year's Copa America and the descent of River Plate--one of the countries most popular football teams--to the second division. Yesterday, in a press conference on the announcement of the outline for the restructuring of Argentine football, official AFA spokesperson Ernesto Cherquis Bialo confirmed what many suspected as the rumor mill began to churn out more details on the changes to come: "if River Plate had not descended, this would not have been decided." (See link) While the move to reinstate
River Plate to the first division was fairly transparent, the restructuring of the tournament also potentially masked other major problems for the AFA:
- River Plate is not the only popular team currently in the second division (though it is by far the one with the most titles and largest following). The recent demotion of Gimnasia y Esgrima (La Plata), Huracan, and Rosario Central along with possible relegation problems to come for other important teams (Racing, Boca Juniors, and San Lorenzo) jeopardizes the AFA's ability to coninue to generate revenue through the host of 'clasicos' that in many ways define Argentine football. With River Plate, Gimnasia y Esgrima, Huracan, and Rosario Central mired in the second division, the AFA's 2011-12 season will be without three of its most 'clasicos': the so-called "super" clasico between River Plate and Boca Juniors, the Newell's Old Boys-Rosario Central derby in Rosario, and the La Plata derby between Estudiantes and Gimnasia y Esgrima. Thus the 40 team tournament offered the promise of replentished coffers for the AFA
- A more significant though less discussed issue is a massive pending lawsuit against the AFA for (essentially) break of contract on behalf of TyC Sports. The absolute owners of Argentine football throughout the 1990s, TyC lost its contract for exclusive broadcast rights for first division games last year to the incentive promoted and backed by the national government headed by president Cristina Kirchner. Futbol Para Todos (the broadcasting of all first division games over the public airwaves) is at the core of a suit brought by TyC in the amount of (approximately) 300 million dollars for the breach of the contract the company had with the AFA until 2014. (See link)
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| "Todo Pasa" |
The AFA's looming financial problems and the potential solutions offered by the 40 team tournament notwithstanding, the plan has been met by relentless popular opposition in Argentina and a range of mobilizations to the AFA's headquarters is being organized through social media. In light of the popular opposition, Julio Grondona, president of the AFA, has called a press conference for today and is expected to shelf the project for 'further study.' Yet Grondona's move might prove to be too little and too late and after 34 years in power he may have to show himself the door as a result of the failure to not only deal with the controversy surrounding the 40 team tournament but also yet another early exit by the national team early exit from this year's Copa America. The largest unresolved problem for the AFA is the common perception of massive corruption (and in 99% of cases the actuality of corruption and personal dealings) and Grondona might have run out scapegoats to push down the proverbial pirate plank Grondona is known for wearing a ring with the legend "Todo Pasa," something which can be loosely translated into "Everything Happens." It can also be understood a much more direct way of saying “anything goes" and a statement to Grondona's durability if taken to mean a much more literal "Everything goes by." In his thirty four years of rule at the AFA he has survived ten changes of national governments, including the de facto presidency by the military junta of the late 1970s during which he ascended to the throne of the AFA. If Grondona's "Everything goes by" is correct and no crisis is truly insurmountable, Grondona might continue.
2 comments:
You bring up some excellent points on the motivations and implications of the AFA proceeding with the 40 team setup.
Most of the information I know about the situation comes from the English media. Why did the representatives from the top div. clubs vote in favor of it? Some sort of pressure from Grondona?
Also, would you mind sharing some good sources for Argentine football? It's something I'm fascinated by and care deeply about, but I'm not so well-informed living in the US. I know Clarin, Perfil, El Pais, and a handful of blogs (like yours) but not much else.
Thanks. As you probably know the project has been definitively canned (officially as of yesterday). There are lots of interpretations on where this all came from, some pointing to pressures from the national government, others suggesting Grondona was moving to co-opt ideas promoted by rivals. As to why the clubs voted for the project, the reason is much simpler there as everyone is pretty much fearful of Grondona and the potential repercussions (personally and for their clubs) that can result from overt opposition. The most any one team would dare manifest against him is to abstain from voting as a way of protesting a decision that, like most things in the AFA, will be shoved down the members throats whether they like it or not.
On sources, beyond the ones you name, I would look at Ole (which is basically Clarin but not exactly) and regional newspapers from Rosario, Cordoba, and Mendoza because they aren't always as directly connected to the power structure as other sources.
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