The AFA restructures promotion football: merger expected and one category less

The Argentine Football Federation (AFA) has confirmed in the last few hours the restructuring of the promotion categories with the novelty of the unification of C and D from 2024as published in its Bulletin 6221 with the resolutions of Wednesday 4 January.

“Starting from the 2024 Season, the Prima C and D categories will be integrated into a single category, which will acquire the status of Professional. The guidelines for its integration will be appropriately established, as will the form of contestation with its variations”reported the body chaired by Claudio Tapia.

In the last season of the Primera D, an amateur Argentine football tournament, eleven teams participated and the champion was Yupanqui, promoted after 46 years. /18) as a new member of the AFA and Mercedes (2022) as a guest.

The current season of the Prima C, which has 19 teams, has already put its calendar up for grabs but the format of the competition has not yet been confirmed, whether it will be a long tournament or divided into Opening and Closing, nor is it yet known how many promotions will offer. The reductions have remained without effect with the unification decided in the last few hours.

The new First National

The restructuring of promotion football also reaches the First National Team with the confirmation of the three relegations, as anticipated in the draw for the new season. Until 2025, three teams will be relegated regardless of their affiliation.

Also in this season there will be a third promotion which “will be born from a match that will be played by the Winner of the Reduced of the First Metropolitan B 2023 and by the representative of the Federal Tournament A 2023.

Meanwhile, First Metropolitan B will have 22 teams starting next year, three more than this season.

“To this end, relegations (of directly affiliated companies) from the First National Category will be taken into account, as well as Promotions from the First Category ?B? Metropolitana to the First National Category; which will make it possible to consider the number of teams in the First Category C necessary for obtain the number of twenty-two (22) teams indicated in advance”.

This means that if a team from Primera B achieves promotion to Primera Nacional and there are no relegations of those directly affiliated with, it will take seven promotions from Primera C to reach the desired 22.