The scandal that was unleashed by
Pablo Dóvalo
's refereeing in the 2-2 draw between
Barracas Central
and
Independiente
once again put
the ins and outs of the Argentine Football Association
at the center of the scene .
Everything revolves around
Claudio Tapia
, of course.
However, Chiqui is not alone.
And we must recognize a virtue: he managed, just as
Julio Humberto Grondona
did , to get the vast majority of the members of the AFA to respond to him without concessions.
And by transitive nature, to
Pablo Toviggino
, treasurer and factotum of the mother house of world champion soccer.
The AFA structure is vertical, but hierarchies are not respected.
That's why treasurer Toviggino, Chiqui Tapia's right-hand man - who spends many of his days abroad for issues linked to the National Team captained by Lionel Messi, another of his allies - is the one who manages everything on a day-to-day basis. .
The voice of the one born 44 years ago in Rosario and who took off from Santiago del Estero has more weight than that of the six vice presidents:
Jorge Ameal
(Boca),
Rodolfo D'Onofrio
(River),
David Garzón
(Huracán),
Carlos Montaña
(Independiente ),
Marcelo Achile
(Defensores de Belgrano) and
Guillermo Raed
(Mitre de Santiago del Estero).
Garzón, Blanco, Chiqui Tapia and Luciano Nakis, heading to Rwanda.
(Instagram)
All the vice presidents have close ties with Tapia and Toviggino, both close to the former candidate for President of the Nation,
Sergio Massa
.
Ameal, who in his youth was a member of the PJ, in Berazategui, battled in Boca against Mauricio Macri and Daniel Angelici and allied himself with Juan Román Riquelme, also close to the Tigrense.
David Garzón became president of Globo with the support of a union member:
Héctor Daer
.
Marcelo Achile -close to Alberto Fernández;
He was Claudio Morresi's chief of staff during his administration as Secretary of Sports in the Kirchner government - he is the one who manages Ascenso in connection with Toviggino.
Carlos Montaña came to Rojo thanks to Hugo Moyano. He is part of the Champagne Group that has been pulling the strings of the Avellaneda institution for years and was an official in the provincial Ministry of Security headed by Sergio Berni.
The case of Guillermo Raed is curious.
He was born in Santiago del Estero and the owner of Secco soft drinks, which he advertised on 81 teams throughout the country.
He is the president of Miter de Santiago del Estero and is the strongest representative of the Interior clubs.
He responds directly to his friend Toviggino, with whom he had different partnerships.
With Raed and Toviggino playing in the big leagues, Santiago del Estero positioned itself as one of the strongest provinces in soccer, with teams in the main categories and with a stadium, Madre de Ciudades, that hosts finals and matches of the National Team.
The former president of River Rodolfo D'Onofrio, with fluid ties with Together for Change, maintains his position in the AFA, even though he has remained silent in recent months.
Víctor Blanco, Racing's boss, is the general secretary of the AFA, and the third most important man, behind the Tapia-Toviggino tandem.
Blanco has a bond of friendship with Chiqui and an institutional bond with Toviggino, who went from having total interference in the Federal Council, an organization that brings together 220 leagues and 3,500 clubs in the interior of the country, to having preponderance among the First Division and Promotion clubs. .
Luciano Nakis and Claudio Tapia, in charge of the AFA national teams.
Luciano Nakis
, from Deportivo Armenio, is the deputy secretary of the AFA.
Noray's son, one of Julio Grondona's disciples, is in the day-to-day life of the National Team with Tapia.
Horacio Martignoni
, from Sarmiento de Junín, is the treasurer of the AFA and has an affinity with Daniel Angelici.
The position of Executive Secretary is held by
Luis Chebel
, from Lanús.
Finally, the pro-Executive Secretary is
Maximiliano Levy
, president of Almirante Brown and who was a barrabrava of Boca, right-hand man of
Maxi Mazzaro
, former leader of La Doce.
How is the AFA structure completed?
With five members for First:
Pascual Caiella
( Estudiantes ),
Berlanga
( Vélez ),
Belloso
( Rosario Central ),
Malaspina
( Argentinos ) and
Moretti
( San Lorenzo );
three members for the Ascenso:
Marín
(Acassuso),
Zaffaroni
(JJ Urquiza) and
Miadosqui
(San Martín de San Juan);
and two members for the Interior:
Beacon
(Liga Rionegrina) and
Alfredo
Dagna
(Olimpo).
An event that did not have such an impact, which occurred in November 2023, was the creation of a Board of Directors, created to attend to and resolve the issues, agenda of the day and “emergencies” of the AFA.
What does this mean?
Something similar to having superpowers: it is a new body that aims to make decisions on “daily and urgent issues.”
Of course, the resolutions made by the new entity, if applicable, must be reported to the Executive Committee.
It happens that the four members of the Board of Directors are part of the Executive Committee: Tapia, Blanco, Toviggino and Gustavo Lorenzo, a historic manager who has worked at AFA since the times of Grondona.