Buenos Aires, March 16 (NA) — The national government ordered a supervisory intervention over the Argentine Football Association (AFA) for 180 days this Monday. The objective is to review documentation, audit balances, contracts, and financial operations of the entity led by Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia. According to the Argentine News Agency, the decision was made by the Ministry of Justice following a prior request from the General Inspection of Justice (IGJ), which had been demanding accounting and administrative information. The appointed supervisors are accountant Rubén Miguel Pappacena and lawyer Agustín Ortiz de Marco. They will have access to the AFA's accounting books, administrative records, supporting documents, and commercial agreements. Their task will include preparing a final report, though they may also submit partial reports if they deem situations urgent. Among the points they must analyze are the financial statements closed as of June 30, 2025, compliance with tax, contribution, and pension deposits, documentation related to the creation of the AFA University (UNAFA), and commercial relations with firms and individuals under observation, including TourProdEnter LLC, Sur Finanzas, Javier Faroni, Erica Gillette, and Ariel Vallejo. The resolution is based on previous objections from the IGJ, which claimed that the AFA did not provide required information for the 2025 fiscal year and regarding UNAFA, and also questioned the entity's attempt to establish its domicile in the province of Buenos Aires. According to the body, that move was “fictitious” and the association remains under the IGJ's jurisdiction. The conflict between the Casa Rosada and AFA's leadership had already escalated in recent weeks. The outcome of this process could lead to new requirements, administrative sanctions, or a deepening of the conflict in the judicial arena. In fact, the entity led by Tapia publicly rejected the measure, calling it an “illegitimate supervision,” denied irregularities in the presentation of its balances, and anticipated it would seek to halt any progress through the courts. The supervision, however, does not constitute a full intervention and does not alter the day-to-day functioning of the AFA, but it does open a stage of formal auditing over one of the most sensitive cores of the Argentine football business.
