In Argentina, the Private Sector May Save Soccer
Unsurprisingly, as the reigning World Cup champions, soccer is deeply embedded in Argentina’s national identity. Players on the national team are praised as heroes by everyone, from die-hard fans to casual observers. Their trophies bring joy and a sense of triumph to a country that has seen much division and gloom in recent decades.
Sadly, recent victories could be the last blaze of a dying fire. Soccer (or as we call it, fútbol) in Argentina is in decline, exploited by nefarious interests—but President Javier Milei has a plan.
Until recently, domestic soccer clubs in Argentina had to be operated as nonprofits. An executive branch decree changed that, allowing clubs to become publicly traded companies. The change may spur lifesaving investment into Argentine soccer.
For fans of Argentina’s national team and domestic league, this is good news.
Consider how many players are leaving Argentina to play elsewhere. In 2022, 5,000 Argentines were playing abroad, most of whom were promising players under the age of 20. Even among the 26 players on the World Cup-winning roster, only one came from a club in the Argentine league. The Argentine Football Association (AFA) is worried that players who start their careers overseas will choose not to represent their national team in international competitions. Even Lionel Messi, a dual national, was tempted to play for the Spanish national team before choosing to play for Argentina. AFA lives in constant fear of having a future world champion slip through their fingers.
What’s causing this exodus of talent? While part of it is Argentina’s general economic malaise, some, including Spanish La Liga President Javier Tebas, point a finger at AFA’s narrow-minded refusal to allow private investment in the national soccer market. Tebas has said the Argentine team won the 2022 World Cup “despite AFA” because their players “were forged in European clubs.”
Milei’s reforms mean international companies could buy and sell teams, or invest in Argentina’s striving clubs. An injection of foreign capital would be a boon not just to the clubs who’d be able to improve their capabilities and keep talented players at home, but also to the Argentine economy overall, as clubs expand and create more jobs with their newfound capital.
AFA leaders and some major teams denounced the reforms as a “privatization of football”—and if you know how the clubs currently work, it’s easy to understand their resistance.Â
In Argentina, soccer clubs are more than just sports teams. A club is like a church, a provider of all manner of cultural and educational services, a place for communities to share, for families to enroll their children and invest in their future—every young player’s dream is to go pro and pay back his parents’ sacrifice. While the clubs are already private nonprofits—an organizational model they’re very defensive about—in reality, they are run by politicians, celebrities, and businessmen who use them to promote their public image. They keep governance opaque, convoluted, and unaccountable, cementing their power by making
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