Argentina's Minister of Justice, Juan Bautista Mahiques, has publicly expressed his support for the implementation of Sports Joint-Stock Companies (SAD) in Argentine football, stating that clubs should have the option to choose their management model. "I am in favor of Sports Joint-Stock Companies," the official affirmed during a television interview accessed by the Argentine News Agency. Mahiques argued that the debate over the legal structure of clubs should focus on the freedom of decision for each institution. In this regard, he proposed that club members should be able to decide whether they want to keep the club as a civil association or transform it into a commercial society to allow the entry of private capital. The official also questioned the stance of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), whose statute establishes that its members must be non-profit civil associations. There is currently a judicial case related to the implementation of this model and the injunction that halted its progress. Mahiques, who recently took office as Minister of Justice, indicated that the discussion on anonymous societies in sport also has a legal component that will have to be resolved in the courts. Meanwhile, the issue continues to be one of the main points of tension between the Government and the leadership of Argentine football.
