AFA calls elections with ‘Chiqui’ Tapia seeking third term

The Argentine Football Association has announced it will hold presidential elections next month with incumbent Claudio ‘Chiqui’ Tapia seeking a third term in office.

The vote to decide the next leader of AFA, local football’s governing body will take place on October 17 at 4pm at the Predio Lionel Andrés Messi at the organisation’s headquarters in Ezeiza, Buenos Aires Province.

Tapia, 56, is the leading candidate and the only figure confirmed to run to date. 

The ex-Barracas Central president is likely to win a third term at the helm of Argentine football, which he has led since taking over AFA in 2017 during a transitional period. 

Since then he has consolidated his position, converting him into the favourite to continue in the post.

While in charge, Tapia has been a central figure in Argentine football, guiding AFA through multiple challenges and overseeing the national team’s recent trophy-laden run, which has included the 2022 World Cup and  two successive Copa América triumphs. 

Candidates must present themselves by September 16 if they are to run. 

The requisites include being a native or naturalised Argentine citizen resident in the country and having occupied the post of president or vice-president of a club or league during at least three of the last seven years. 

Furthermore, the candidates for both the presidency and the Executive Committee must have a clean legal record with no criminal convictions upheld.

AFA’s Ordinary General Assembly, in which the election will be held, promises to be a crucial event in the politics of Argentine football. 

With Tapia the only candidate until now, this election is expected to reaffirm his leadership and mark out the course of domestic football for the next few years.

The incumbent is at odds with President Javier Milei and his bid to alter the ownership structure of domestic sides. 

Milei, a self-confessed “anarcho-capitalist,” wants to see clubs sold off into private hands, while Tapia wants them to remain as non-profit sporting associations.

– TIMES/PERFIL