Argentine football lives in a permanent metamorphosis. Changeable, unpredictable, but with a captivating finish, “the product” – as it was called Claudio Tapia to the championship – it already has a format and a start date for 2023. However, the most important news that emerged from the meeting held by the top management in the property that the AFA owns in Ezeiza has to do with the descents –there will be three next year– and the end of middle school. Yup, the idea is to end that damn coefficient in 2025 and get to 2028 with 22 teamsa number more similar to the tournaments of yesteryear, less crowded and more competitive.
Resolved unanimously and voted by mail. That is why, beyond his absence in the conclave yesterday afternoon, River supported virtually. Due to overlapping agendas, Second Vice President Ignacio Villarroel was unable to attend, but spoke to Tapia by phone. Everyone has agreed to keep the format, but the tournaments will be canceled. The League will be played first and then the League Cup. This rotation has to do with the need to match the calendar to international cups and ensure that a team does not have to play two games in less than 96 hours. Although there may be meetings every 72 hours, especially if there is travel involved.
The championship will start on Friday 27 January and will end on 5 August. The vernacular trophy will start on August 20 and the final will be played on December 16. The Champions Trophy will be played on 23rd. And if a tie-break is necessary – as is the case now with Tigre and Racing – the game will be played on 20.
Thursday, at 1 pm, the calendar of the two tournaments organized by the League, sponsored by Binance, and the Copa Argentina will be known. The goal is to have predictability, apart from the fact that no one can guarantee it: There is a lot of evidence that managers write regulations with their hands and cross them off with their elbows. In fact, there was a lot of negotiation to arrive at this definition. And if it is true that the decision was accepted by all the members of the Executive Committee, it is also the reality that it was the lesser evil.
The other option was a 30-team spawn. From first to twentieth place they would play a second tournament called Top 20 and from eleventh to thirtieth place, a reclassification with the 10 best teams of the First National, which for many would have been a massive relegation. “You can have a bad campaign, finish below 10th place and run the risk of going to B.Said a leader with the weight.
This proposal had come into Tapia’s hands and, in principle, thrilled the AFA president. It obviously involved canceling the rebates again, a situation that occurred during the pandemic. Then, José Manzur (Godoy Cruz) with the support of Hernán Arboleya (Lanús) and Mario Leito approached a new project with the gradual elimination of middle schools. “Are you sure what you are proposing to me?”said to them Chiqui amazed.
And although there were four originally planned downturns, it was negotiated that there would be three, two on average and one based on the overall chart. In 2024 there would be two for the general table and one for the average. In 2025 they would all be at the annual table, dispensing directly from the coefficients of the three seasons that ended up condemning, in the most recent example, Patronato, one of the tournament animators, champion of the Argentina Cup. Despite finishing in 10th place with 40 points, they were relegated to the First National. As happened with the Tigre in 2020, he will have to play the promotion and the Libertadores in parallel.
“The truth that the only way to kill the monster of the 30 teams, the only way was to accept three and not four relegations”, He confessed Clarione one of the participants in the Ezeiza Summit.
In any case, everyone slips down, this could change at the end of next season. Nobody excludes that the gradualism that is now being proposed ends up leading to a shock. It will obviously depend on the interests of the moment. Economic and political, basically. Furthermore, many do not allow themselves to be seduced by the idea of being odd until they reach 22 flowers. In any case, there will be two promotions. One direct, the other through the famous Ridotto.
Leaders want more attractive tournaments that allow for better payouts. Many teams in the First Division do not generate a good return. In fact, the Top 20 didn’t have television backing.
And speaking of foreign exchange earnings, the agreement between Alfa and the United Arab Emirates Sports Council is not confirmed, which will have a million dollars up for grabs that the champion of the Professional League (Boca) and the winner of the Argentine Cup (Boca Board) face each other. Da Viamonte believe that a new trophy would be more attractive. Two possibilities are being considered: whether they play the first two of the general draw (Racing, 80 points, and Boca, 79) or the winner of the Champions Trophy against the first of the general draw. If the champion is Racing, the rival will be Boca. In this sense, the situation is being studied, but the Academy.
So and it is Argentine football. Today, of course. Tomorrow we will see.
Source: Clarin
