Argentina's World Cup title defense clouded by turmoil in domestic soccer scene

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BUENOS AIRES (AP) — After Argentina won the World Cup in Qatar 2022, the president of the Argentine Football Association carried a replica of the trophy at every public appearance. He received standing ovations.

Claudio Tapia had reason to consider himself part of the sporting achievement. The AFA leader took a chance on the inexperienced Lionel Scaloni as the national team's coach, a move many say helped Argentina win its first World Cup title in 36 years.

Now, as La Albiceleste prepares to defend its title in June-July, Tapia finds himself at the center of a crisis that has shaken the country's soccer landscape.

The public mood has turned against him and AFA due to corruption investigations, unpopular changes to the domestic soccer league and a string of World Cup warmups against low-ranking opponents.

Meanwhile, Tapia, 58, has been locked in a power struggle with Argentine President Javier Milei over the ownership structure of the country's soccer clubs.

In late March, Tapia was charged with tax evasion following a complaint filed by Milei’s government. Hours later the soccer federation boss was booed while receiving a plaque on the field before Argentina’s friendly match against Mauritania in Buenos Aires.

National team players, including team captain and soccer icon Lionel Messi, have tried to stay away from the conflict as they prepare for the World Cup.

“Let it be clear that we are football players, we came here to play football,” midfielder Rodrigo De Paul said last month after a friendly match against Zambia. “We don’t get involved in politics, we don’t understand those kinds of things.”

Tapia made it a habit to post photos of him and Messi on social media ahead of national team matches. The recent dearth of such photos was seen by Argentine soccer commentators as a sign of distance between the AFA president and the team's most famous player.

Messi, who played with the national team in their recent friendlies in March, left Buenos Aires without making any statements.

Milei's long-standing feud with Tapia stems from the libertarian president’s desire to privatize Argentina's member-run soccer clubs, a move AFA has resisted.

Late last year, tax authorities filed a complaint against Tapia and other AFA executives for allegedly failing to pay 19 billion pesos ($13 million) in social security contributions between 2024 and 2025. The courts opened a criminal investigation and in March filed formal charges against Tapia, who could face a sentence of two to six years in prison.

AFA denies the accusations and claims that Tapia is the victim of a smear campaign.

Tapia has also faced widespread criticism among soccer fans for reforms to the domestic soccer leagues, which critics say had more to do with strengthening his internal power than improving the quality of the competitions.

After securing re-election in 2024, a year before the expiration of his second term, he suspended relegations for that season and expanded the top Argentine soccer league to 30 teams. Most of the top leagues in Europe have 18-20 teams.

Critics say the new format has diluted the quality of league.

“The schedule is awful. And they don’t play each other in a round-robin format over the course of a year, so there is no way for anyone to truly boast of being the best,” said Osvaldo Santander, a 60-year-old San Lorenzo fan.

Tapia still has the support of the leaders of most of Argentina's soccer clubs, except River Plate and Estudiantes La Plata, who have withdrawn from AFA's executive committee. It's a different situation in the stadiums, where fans frequently hurl insults at the AFA president.

Santander will travel to the United States with his son to cheer on Argentina during the tournament. The journey will cost approximately $12,000, an amount they saved up over four years.

He hopes the players will be unaffected by the crisis in Argentine soccer “given that most of the players play abroad and aren’t living the day-to-day reality that we are.”

Some point to Italy winning the World Cup in 1982 and 2006 despite domestic leadership crises and corruption scandals.

“The connection between the administration and the football can sometimes be logical, and sometimes it isn’t. Football is unusual in these matters, a world of its own,” said Ezequiel Fernández Moores, a columnist for the newspaper La Nación who wrote several books on Argentine sports.

More decisive for La Albiceleste’s performance in the World Cup could be their questionable preparation with friendlies against second-tier teams, none from Europe, in order to obtain greater commercial benefits for AFA.

Argentina has faced teams much lower in the FIFA rankings, such as Indonesia, Puerto Rico, Angola, Mauritania, and Zambia. Their final two warmup matches will be in June against Honduras and Iceland, neither of whom qualified for the tournament.

De Paul, Messi's teammate at Inter Miami, called for unity as the team gets ready for the tournament co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

“Winning is difficult, and winning twice is even more difficult," he said. “If we want to defend what we’ve achieved, the whole country has to stand together.”

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