A Super League that would break away from the Argentine first division "now has the backing of 11 clubs and threatens to break the old structure of the Argentine FA," according to Daniel Avellaneda of CLARÍN. River Plate, Boca Juniors, Racing and San Lorenzo "want to advance with the model that works in Spain and the U.K." La Liga and the Premier League "negotiate their own contracts with sponsors and commercialize their TV rights," separate from the national federations in those countries. The "four big clubs" already received backing from Newell's, Rosario Central, Gimnasia, Estudiantes, Vélez, Huracán and Banfield. With one more team joining the "Super League," the execs would be willing to start a new first-division championship. The "original idea featured a 16- or 18-team competition," but if only 12 are committed, there would be a playoff system like the one used in Mexico. Boca Juniors President Daniel Angelici said that on May 9 he will meet with La Liga President Javier Tebas "to discuss the development" (CLARÍN, 4/26).
POSSIBLE CORRUPTION REVEALED: In Buenos Aires, Gustavo Grabia reported there are 6B Argentine pesos ($420M), "more than 8,000 checks and one conclusion: the Fútbol para Todos program was a gigantic business for a group of financiers associated with the previous government and others linked to AFA execs." The "vast majority of the clubs increased their liabilities through a perverse circuit that enriched a few and submerged the majority in poverty." Olé reached this conclusion after "analyzing more than 1,600 checks turned in to the institutions and exchanged in a way that resulted in damages to the clubs." If the "same progression" was carried out with the 6B Argentine pesos that the national government provided from Aug. '09-Dec. '15, nearly 2B Argentine pesos ($140M) that were supposed to go to the clubs "ended up in other pockets" (OLE, 4/26).
