🇦🇷 The Fight for Football in Argentina

Yesterday, I released my latest YouTube video where I broke down the various ownership models of football clubs around the world. In that video I discussed state-owned ownership, Germany’s “50+1” model and private equity ownership too.

I missed one out intentionally because I wanted to give this pretty fascinating insight to newsletter subscribers specifically.

Argentina is a country obsessed with football. It’s given the world Messi, Maradona, and three world cups.

But off the pitch, the game is in deep trouble and now, the country’s most controversial president wants to do something about it.

Right now, all top clubs in Argentina are fan-owned. They’re legally required to operate as non-profit associations with no private owners, no billionaires and no investors.

President Javier Milei is trying to change that.

It sounds noble and in many ways it is. But the details behind it are complex. So today, we dive right in…

In Argentina, football teams aren’t just sports teams, they’re community hubs.

Footballing organisations run sports centres, healthcare clinics, and local community programmes. When researching this I learnt that Estudiantes offers robotics classes to young students! Independiente has a full education centre for local residents. For many working-class families, the local football club is their biggest support system.

And it works. Argentina’s 2022 World Cup-winning team had players raised through these grassroots systems from all over the country. The clubs say this “federalised” model is what made that possible.

On November 14th 2023 and official declaration titled “No a las SAD” (No to Sports Public Limited Companies), from the LPF (the organization that represents Argentina’s top-flight clubs) made a strong case for the non-profit, fan-owned model. In it, they explicitly said:

Translated, this means:

But there’s a flipside and it’s getting harder to ignore.

Many clubs are broke.

The same Independiente owed $20 million in debt last year. It was so much that an Instagram influencer Santiago Maratea launched a crowdfunding campaign to bail them out. He raised $3.4 million from fans(!) which, despite being extremely successful barely scratched the surface.

San Lorenzo, another popular Argetine club have been fined for unpaid salaries also. Many clubs are struggling to keep up with rising energy bills and inflation.

What this causes is a talent drain. Despite all the international players starting their careers in Argentina, all eleven players in Argentina’s starting line-up today play outside the country.

In addition, the last six Copa Libertadores South America’s version of the Champions League were all won by Brazilian clubs.

So, with all the above being said, in 2024 President Milei proposed a new rule. He said football clubs should become private companies if they want to.

That means they could take on investors, sell shares, and bring in money, like top European clubs already do.

Unsurprisingly, the football establishment pushed back. The Argentine Football Association (AFA) refused. Judges got involved. And most big clubs, like Boca Juniors and River Plate, are flat-out against it.

But cracks are forming.

Estudiantes (the same club from earlier) “accepted” millions in outside investment from an American businessman, Foster Gillett (remember George Gillett who once co-owned Liverpool? Yeah, this is his son).

They used the money to Estudiantes sign top players like Cristian Medina and Lucas Alario.

The club insisted it was not privatising, but the deal sparked ALOT of controversy because they are operating with the characteristics of a privately backed club just… without the legal ownership change.

Milei was ecstatic about this deal. He saw it as a sign of the future.

It’s a fascinating setup and this conundrum is very similar to the topics I explored with Germany’s 50+1 model.

Fan ownership means community roots, social value, and democratic governance. But it also means limited funding, political interference, and often poor management.

Private ownership could bring investment, professionalism, and a better shot at keeping talent in the country. But it risks turning clubs into businesses that prioritise profit over people.

Argentina specifically has always used football as more than just a sport. That’s what makes this fight different from debates in Europe or the US. In Argentina, football is the national project.

The question is no longer if Argentina needs to change, but can do so without losing what makes its football so special?

I am intrigued to hear your take so I will leave you with a poll.

It might be difficult for you to answer with any conviction as you may not be based in Argentina yourself. But I am intrigued anyway, click your answer above!

Before we leave, I am going to do more of this.

Along with the YouTube channel this Newsletter is growing faster than it ever has before so I am going to try to reward you all with content in here that you do not get anywhere else.

If you havent yet seen the video on Ownership models, check it out below:

I am really enjoying the platform we are building.

As always, I will see you next week.