Robert Harrison Not only does the Paraguayan Football Association (APF) preside; The recent Chilean media Ciper research confirms what many in the environment intuited: it is The man who handles Paraguayan football threads at all levels. League, hiring, national team and now also the betting business. Literally, everything goes through him.
Audios and filtered chats They show that Harrison not only influences key sports decisions, such as calls for the selection (directed by the Argentine DT Gustavo Alfaro), but also has direct links with players representatives, such as Pedro Aldave and Juan Appleyard. With them coordinated maneuvers to inflate contributionsblock passes abroad that did not benefit their surroundings, or even simulate trout offers to negotiate better prices.
In one of the conversations, Appleyard admits to having presented a false offer in the name of Udinese By Cristian Colman, national player: “I am telling that you took out of the club, which is official, but that it is to make the other bullshit run.”
Harrison, who too integrates the FIFA Council And he maintains oily relationships with Conmebol’s dome, he never cut his ties with the National Club, of which he was leader. According to Ciper, he continued to favor private interests from his position of power, negotiating with managers that have direct incidence in clubs and even in the Paraguayan team. Filtration exposes a system that converts Paraguayan football into a personalized business, where sports meritocracy seems to have less weight than the economic convenience of the leadership environment.
But the story does not end there. Harrison also decided to disembark in one of the most lucrative and controversial businesses: online bets. In March, the Harrison Group – who is one of the main owners – bought 50% of the shares of SOLBETone of the most important sports betting and casino platforms in the region.
The operation was completed just after President Santiago Peña reformed the National Commission of Games of Chance (Conocar)which now depends directly on the National Directorate of Tax Revenue (DNIT), facilitating the entry of new actors to the market and opening the door to the competition against the historical monopoly of Daruma Sam (Apostala).
Harrison’s entry into the betting business represents an ethical conflict and regulatory proportions. FIFA expressly prohibits soccer leaders are involved in companies linked to sports betsgiven the risk of manipulation of results and conflicts of interest. However, Harrison not only ignored that rule: with this move, he went on to control Paraguayan football from the leadership, from the desks of clubs and representatives, and now also from the platforms that profit from the games.
The purchase of Solbet – which includes roulette, slot, blackjack, poker, sports bets and more – was presented as A commitment to technological innovation and diversification of the business group. But in practice, it means that the same leader who can decide which player goes to the selection, or influence a local transfer, now also earns money if that player makes a goal and someone bet on his casino. The circle closes perfectly … for him.
In Paraguay, as in other countries in the region, sports bets grew exponentially in recent years. In 2025, The business moves millionaire figures and attracts more and more entrepreneurs. But Harrison’s arrival in this field is not just a commercial opportunity: it is a clear sign that football ceased to be just a sport. In its Paraguayan version, it is an ecosystem dominated by a single man who combines institutional power, political lobby, business contacts and now direct financial control over the sports entertainment industry. Robert Harrison is not simply the president of a federation. He is the owner of the game.
By rn
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