Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia is going through the most delicate moment since he became president of the AFA. In just a few days, the Sur Finanzas case led to 33 simultaneous raids that included the AFA, the League and 17 clubs, ordered by federal judge Luis Armella in an investigation for alleged money laundering and evasion linked to that financial institution, of businessman Ariel Vallejo. With Justice and the government of Javier Milei on top, Tapia tries to sustain himself with a mix of international influence, territorial power and control of the internal thread.
Sur Finance operates as a payment platform and sponsor of professional football. According to the file, he closed agreements with First and Ascenso clubs and put his logo on t-shirts, posters and broadcasts. It also appears in Estrella del Sur, the San Vicente club that was raided and that named its stadium Tapia. Vallejo admitted his relationship with the head of the AFA, but denies illegal maneuvers and assures that “Chiqui” never asked him for anything.
The case thickened when Justice raided warehouses of Sur Finanzas in Lomas de Zamora and found safes and papers that would have been transferred there after the first operations, something that is seen as a possible attempt to hide evidence.
Journalism. In parallel, in the television program “Y Mañana Qué” properties and companies linked to Pablo Toviggino, treasurer of the AFA and Tapia’s right-hand man, were revealed. The complaint includes large plots of land in Pilar, houses, swimming pools, horse statues, farms and luxury cars. With this, the focus shifted from a noisy financial company to the assets of the AFA president’s inner circle.
The institutional impact was seen in Ezeiza, on Viamonte Street and in several club headquarters. Armella’s order, promoted by prosecutor Cecilia Incardona, searched for contracts and records that explain how million-dollar sums circulated through Sur Finanzas and the clubs. The image of security forces inside the property where the National Team trains left a clear signal: the sports project that Tapia shows as his achievement was tied to a judicial file.
Endurance. Faced with this situation, the leader accelerated a protection scheme that he had been putting together since the end of 2024. At the international level, he was ratified as a member of the FIFA Council representing Conmebol, with public support from Gianni Infantino. That chair in Zurich not only adds insult to injury: FIFA rules prohibit direct intervention by governments in the associations and provide for harsh sanctions, a concrete limit for any attempt to advance the AFA from the Casa Rosada.
On the local front, Tapia strengthened his partnership with Axel Kicillof. At the end of 2024, the AFA and the Province signed an agreement so that the Estadio Único Diego Armando Maradona, in La Plata, will become the regular venue for the National Team and the finals of the local calendar. From December 27, the AFA will be in charge of management and a works plan, while the Province withdraws from day-to-day work. The control of a large stadium, in the heart of the suburbs, thus passes into the direct orbit of the president of the AFA.
At the same time, he tightened the internal control of football. After the controversy over the title of “League champion” awarded to Rosario Central, decided in a meeting of the Executive Committee that Estudiantes and other clubs are discussing, the Professional League announced that it will record all the meetings of that body and presented the measure as a gesture of transparency. In terms of communication, something similar happened: towards the end of November, press departments of several clubs published statements similar to their support for Tapia and his vice, Pablo Toviggino, and Barracas Central – chaired by a son of the leader – clarified that its relationship with Sur Finanzas is only commercial.
Selection is the other pillar of the scheme. Tapia relies on the partnership with Lionel Scaloni and on a small table that has Messi as a central figure. The AFA is advancing in the renewal of the coaching staff until 2030, with the next World Cup on the horizon, and uses that project as a framework for stability.
In the judicial plot, the reports no longer speak only of an uncomfortable sponsor, but of a financial circuit that would have used football to move money out of the banks, with Sur Finanzas as a key piece and contracts intertwined with clubs in Tapia’s circle.
In the corridors of Ezeiza, many continue to repeat the “everything passes” from the previous boss of the AFA, the late Julio Grondona. This time, the pressure comes at the same time from federal courts, control agencies, the Government, the press and a part of the leadership map itself. Tapia is betting on his well-known formula: accumulated power, strategic allies and the protection of the world champion team. The South Finance case will tell if this resistance is achieved or if, for the first time in years, the decision on its continuity is made outside the AFA offices.
