The directors of the Professional League they met this Friday at the AFA premises and, contrary to what was supposed beforehand, they opted for not formally deal with the change of format for the current season and next year, therefore, the two reductions stipulated for the end of the year are maintained.
The previous buzz about the possibility of a new format change in the highest category of Argentine football and the cancellation of declines -as in 2020 and 2021- had its effect on the Executive Committee meeting and the leaders avoided submitting to another rain of criticism by the continuous modifications of the tournaments.
“There was never any talk of removing the descents, they are signed, they must be fulfilled and they are still in force,” replied Claudio “Chiqui” Tapiapresident of the AFA, before the consultation of the Télam agency during an event that took place after the meeting and where the renewal of the sponsors for the women’s championship next year was announced.
“The 2023 calendar was discussed at the Executive Committee meeting and we also discussed the dates for the pending cups from past competitions. We have to prepare for the next tournaments because the World Cup is coming,” he said. the boss of Argentine soccer.
What would the new tournament be like?
The truth is that the lack of consensus on the modification buried the discussion for the time being, at least officially. It is that on the side of the “big” clubs want a championship with 20 or 22 competitors and they also come with danger the chance to play in the first part of each year the classification to the next cups -and the income in dollars that this entails- since if they are ranked from 11 to 15 they will only have the route of the Argentine Cup to reach the Libertadores .
That’s the way it is, Boca, River, Independent, Racing and San Lorenzo -the most complicated in the 2023 averages- would not initially accompany the idea of returning to the 30 clubs in the Professional League, with a cup of two zones of 15 in the first part of the year and a second semester with two leagues, product of the positions in the said cup.
The top ten in each zone would advance to a championship phase of 20 clubs and all against all in the second half, while the last five of each group will join the top ten of the Second Division and would also play a round robin league, where the last ten will lose the category and also qualify for the South American… A tempting prize for the clubs of the First National and very unattractive for those who usually cheer for the highest category of national football.
As an example and as if to somehow clarify a project that is not at all clear, San Lorenzo and Independiente would now be entering a reclassification tournament for the poor performance in the League Cup, where they finished among the five worst in their respective zones. Other “heavyweights” would be Rosario Central, Lanús and Atlético Tucumán, which is now the leader of the League after 14 dates.
The weight of television
In turn, television has been pressing for a long time with the realization of a unified championship of 20 or 22 teams. The main axis is the low rating of some parties, to the point that the companies Turner (TNT Sports) and Disney (ESPN Premium) determined not to send reporters and commentators to the meetings that they see as “unattractive” and they lowered the price using the “tube off” system (they broadcast from the place with cameras and a field journalist, while the other two are in a room in the City of Buenos Aires).
Therefore, with the World Cup just around the corner and with 13 dates to go in the Professional League, from the AFA side they maintain that they don’t want to “buy trouble” but at the same time they will continue to discuss the possibility of changing the competition.
The AFA opened the door for a change and the discussion will be held for several weeks behind closed doors, since the fans of almost all the teams were against the change on social networks. The general ambition is that of a league of 20 teams, as in the main European tournaments and despite the fact that for these payments the competitiveness is not enough. On the contrary, in the current Professional League, that Atlético Tucumán, Gimnasia La Plata and Argentinos Juniors are leading the fight for the title, does not help the sacred business either.
