Pablo Toviggino occupies two key places within the AFA and that explains why his name stopped circulating only in the halls of football and expanded to politics and Justice. He is the treasurer of the entity chaired by Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia, the man who manages the daily cash: payments, contracts, internal movements. And he also leads the Federal Council, the body that regulates soccer in the interior and that functions as a kind of Ministry of the Interior of soccer, reaching out to governors, mayors and even prominent people from the most remote towns in the country. That combination made him a central piece of the ruling party in the AFA, someone who executes decisions and, when necessary, builds majorities. For everyone and everyone, Toviggino is part of the hard core of power.
It doesn’t come from a sports career or public exposure. He was born in Rosario in 1979, but his construction as a leader was in Santiago del Estero, far from the AFA headquarters on Viamonte Street in Buenos Aires. He trained in promotion and regional football structures, passing through Comercio Central Unidos, and for years he moved in the background. That journey gave him something more valuable than visibility: links. He arrived in the AFA through the internal politics of football and consolidated his position from there, with provincial terminals and a very well-oiled relationship with the local power of Santiago, especially with former governor Gerardo Zamora.
The intersection between football and politics appears recurrently in its history. In the territory, their private ventures coexisted with a provincial State active in the dissemination of works and projects. For example, when he opened a hotel he owned in Santiago del Estero, the Zamora government notified him with a newsletter.
At the discursive level, Toviggino chose social networks as a trench. From there he went out to confront the national government in every debate that touched on the interests of the AFA. That frontal tone exposed him more than usual for a leader who, until not so long ago, preferred to move without microphones.
The problem is that the exhibition stopped being just political. The judicial situation is today the most delicate point of his career. The case focuses on a mega-quinta located in Villa Rosa, Pilar district: a property with a helipad, sheds and areas adapted for equestrian activity. Formally, the property is listed in the name of a company, whose owners are a retiree and his son, economic profiles that do not seem compatible with the value of the property. For investigators, this is where the suspicion of name-callers appears.
During the raids, elements emerged that complicated the situation. An internal registry of a country places it as a permanent resident, with unrestricted access, along with those who appear as formal owners. The name of one of his daughters also appears on that list. Inside the property, objects were found that the researchers interpreted as signs of everyday use: elements linked to the AFA and a plaque from Barracas Central dedicated to Toviggino. Added to this was the seizure of nearly 60 high-end cars, which opened another line of investigation into the origin and actual ownership of those assets.
The file is not limited to the fifth. The business map surrounding Toviggino includes hotels, service stations, a private cemetery, commercial brands and companies based in Santiago del Estero. The emblem is a high-end hotel opened in 2023 on Route 9, with a spa and suites named after their children. Top-level sports delegations passed through that place. Nearby there is a large-scale private cemetery called Jardín Pentecostes, another sensitive business due to its size and low profile.
There is also a network of brands that are repeated: the name Neurus, painted on the heliport of the Villa Rosa mega-quinta, reappears in a wine bar and in a line of premium wines. In this tour, links appear with the administrative structure of the AFA. In another more uncomfortable chapter, contracts appear with the provincial State of Santiago Del Estero: million-dollar awards for surveillance services and supplies, with decrees and resolutions that today form part of the judicial analysis. All business with the State that ends up in the hands of Toviggino. In gratitude, and as president of the Santiago del Estero soccer league, he had the minor division cups called “Gerardo Zamora.”
The passion for horses is another visible trait in Tovigigno’s life and, at the same time, one of the most documented areas. Official records show him as the owner of numerous show jumping horses registered between 2021 and 2023, with names that are repeated in competitions and catalogs. The market values of these animals amount to high figures. To this core are added Friesians and Akhal-Teke specimens, exotic and expensive breeds, some imported. The “HT world”, in reference to “Toviggino Brothers”, would expand the total number of horses to several dozen.
In parallel, Toviggino accumulated open political fronts. With Patricia Bullrich, the conflict escalated to a formal complaint before the Conmebol Ethics Committee. Toviggino’s response was, again, public: he defended the AFA as a private entity and denied any management of state funds, shifting the focus of the discussion.
The procedural situation is today the central data. The case investigating the owners – on paper – of the villa in Villa Rosa left the noise stage and entered the testing phase. There was a change of jurisdiction, lifting of the secrecy of the summary and a battery of measures aimed at reconstructing the origin of the money and determining who is the real beneficiary of the assets investigated. The focus is on three layers: luxury properties and vehicles, intermediary companies, and use and access tests.
The stage is open. If Justice manages to close this triangle with concrete evidence, Toviggino’s problem becomes serious. If not, you will be left floating in a gray area of suspicions and complaints. The game, this time, is played elsewhere.
