Argentina Football Association is in turmoil even as Lionel Messi-led La Albiceleste prepare for FIFA World Cup title defense in a few months from now. In December, a federal inquiry into the soccer federation's finances led to a corruption case that implicated the federation's president, Claudio Tapia, and his chief adviser and treasurer, Pablo Toviggino, as per a report.
The investigation thrust the soccer federation into a spotlight that not only dominated the court of public opinion in Argentina, but also linked the country's most popular sport with its increasingly volatile political environment, NYT News Service reported.
The case continues to simmer as Argentina prepares to defend its World Cup title this summer. The uproar is unlikely to affect Lionel Messi and his nation's quest to win a second consecutive World Cup. It will, however, follow Tapia for the remainder of his term as federation president.
The inquiry is focused on allegedly misappropriated funds that are tied to the federation's revenue dating to 2023. Aside from Tapia, the most high-profile figure named in the investigation, there are other protagonists whose entanglement has sensationalized the story.
The investigation has implicated not only one of the most visible federations in CONMEBOL, the continental confederation of South America, but also a mother and son real estate team and a scorned soccer promoter.
After federal authorities began to audit businesses tied to Tapia and Toviggino, the investigation eventually led to a compound in Villa Rosa that both men allegedly own.
The home was registered to a real estate company owned by Luciano Pantano and his mother, Ana Lucia Conte. Pantano, who is a former president of the Argentina Futsal Association, an affiliate of the soccer federation, has been accused by authorities of being a frontman for Toviggino.
The property includes a shortened version of a soccer field, several other grass fields and a heliport. A fleet of 54 luxury vehicles, including 45 classic cars, several Harley-Davidson motorcycles and a Ferrari F430 worth an estimated $500,000, were also seized, according to the Argentine news outlet Clarín.
A horse stable was another main feature of the home. Toviggino, a longtime lieutenant for the soccer federation, is an avid equestrian. According to reports, the home was bought by Pantano and Conte for $1.8 million. It was later valued at $17 million by court-appointed experts, per multiple Argentine outlets.
Additionally, officials linked a corporate credit card to Pantano, which incurred monthly expenses of nearly $35,000. The credit card's registered address was the soccer federation's main headquarters in Buenos Aires.
The lavish lifestyle, previously kept in the dark, was now out in the open. As the negative press multiplied daily, Tapia and Toviggino avoided comment. But the soccer federation did not stay quiet. On Dec. 9, it released a lengthy statement referring to the federation that Tapia inherited in 2017 as debt-ridden and financially disorganized.
"That is what we found: a leaderless, defunded, and discredited AFA," the statement read in part. "From that starting point, we began working to put the accounts in order, regain credibility and restore to the institution the prestige it deserves."
The statement also emphasized that inside the soccer federation, "there are no partisan politics." Yet, a few paragraphs later, the AFA took aim at the former Argentine presidents Mauricio Macri and Alberto Fernández. Macri, per the AFA, levied "constant threats of federal intervention, allegations of bribery, influence peddling, money laundering and other fabrications."
Fernández was accused of disparaging the federation and attempting to install his preferred candidate to lead it.
The soccer federation took on a more aggressive tone as investigators widened their inquiry into allegations of financial misconduct. It defended its practices and claimed that Argentine and U.S. authorities had reviewed a key commercial relationship and found no irregularities.
The federation's final communication included a title that echoed Argentina's political past: The only truth is reality. Toviggino may not have written the news release, but it certainly sounded like an ideology he supports.
On social media, Toviggino frequently shares Pope Leo XIV's messages, as well as videos and attributable quotations to Juan Domingo Perón, who was a military officer who first ruled Argentina from 1946 to 1955. He is the founder of the Peronist movement, Argentina's most influential political party.
When Tapia was ratified as AFA president by CONMEBOL in November, Toviggino reshared the confederation's social media post with: "Congratulations, Commander!! Keep quiet; do not interrupt the enemy when he is making a mistake!!"
Tapia and Toviggino, though, are now in the Argentine government's crosshairs. And it appears to be no coincidence that the pressure is coming from Argentina's populist administration under President Javier Milei.
Tapia "is destroying Argentine football," Milei told La Nación in December. And those who commit crimes, Milei said, will face justice, adding that he would not be involved in his own justice department's investigation. Milei's public criticism of Tapia has led to a war of words between government officials and the soccer federation.
In 2023, Tapia and other AFA officials supported the presidential candidacy of Milei's opponent, Sergio Massa. Toviggino has claimed that the case against the AFA is a form of political persecution. The feud reportedly led to Milei's decision not to attend the 2026 World Cup draw Dec. 5 in Washington, D.C.
Tapia, though, was at the draw, and after the event, he flew to President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. Tapia was a guest of Felix Lasarte, a Trump administration insider who facilitated a meeting between Tapia and U.S. Homeland Security officials to discuss World Cup security measures.
The meetings took place during an event that honored conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated in September. In Argentina, Tapia's Mar-a-Lago trip was seen as a power move against Milei, an ardent supporter of Trump.
In Argentina, the entire scandal has been called AFA Gate, which is a troubling comparison to FIFA Gate, the 2015 bribery case that rocked global soccer.
But business has never been better for the soccer federation. The organization recently expanded its global corporate footprint to Dubai, after a successful year in 2025 in which it secured 64 deals in 21 countries. But if its current leadership hopes to hold on to its own peninsula of power, it will have to weather a storm that only seems to intensify.
The investigation thrust the soccer federation into a spotlight that not only dominated the court of public opinion in Argentina, but also linked the country's most popular sport with its increasingly volatile political environment, NYT News Service reported.
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The case continues to simmer as Argentina prepares to defend its World Cup title this summer. The uproar is unlikely to affect Lionel Messi and his nation's quest to win a second consecutive World Cup. It will, however, follow Tapia for the remainder of his term as federation president.
The inquiry is focused on allegedly misappropriated funds that are tied to the federation's revenue dating to 2023. Aside from Tapia, the most high-profile figure named in the investigation, there are other protagonists whose entanglement has sensationalized the story.
The investigation has implicated not only one of the most visible federations in CONMEBOL, the continental confederation of South America, but also a mother and son real estate team and a scorned soccer promoter.
After federal authorities began to audit businesses tied to Tapia and Toviggino, the investigation eventually led to a compound in Villa Rosa that both men allegedly own.
The home was registered to a real estate company owned by Luciano Pantano and his mother, Ana Lucia Conte. Pantano, who is a former president of the Argentina Futsal Association, an affiliate of the soccer federation, has been accused by authorities of being a frontman for Toviggino.
The property includes a shortened version of a soccer field, several other grass fields and a heliport. A fleet of 54 luxury vehicles, including 45 classic cars, several Harley-Davidson motorcycles and a Ferrari F430 worth an estimated $500,000, were also seized, according to the Argentine news outlet Clarín.
A horse stable was another main feature of the home. Toviggino, a longtime lieutenant for the soccer federation, is an avid equestrian. According to reports, the home was bought by Pantano and Conte for $1.8 million. It was later valued at $17 million by court-appointed experts, per multiple Argentine outlets.
Additionally, officials linked a corporate credit card to Pantano, which incurred monthly expenses of nearly $35,000. The credit card's registered address was the soccer federation's main headquarters in Buenos Aires.
The lavish lifestyle, previously kept in the dark, was now out in the open. As the negative press multiplied daily, Tapia and Toviggino avoided comment. But the soccer federation did not stay quiet. On Dec. 9, it released a lengthy statement referring to the federation that Tapia inherited in 2017 as debt-ridden and financially disorganized.
"That is what we found: a leaderless, defunded, and discredited AFA," the statement read in part. "From that starting point, we began working to put the accounts in order, regain credibility and restore to the institution the prestige it deserves."
The statement also emphasized that inside the soccer federation, "there are no partisan politics." Yet, a few paragraphs later, the AFA took aim at the former Argentine presidents Mauricio Macri and Alberto Fernández. Macri, per the AFA, levied "constant threats of federal intervention, allegations of bribery, influence peddling, money laundering and other fabrications."
Fernández was accused of disparaging the federation and attempting to install his preferred candidate to lead it.
The soccer federation took on a more aggressive tone as investigators widened their inquiry into allegations of financial misconduct. It defended its practices and claimed that Argentine and U.S. authorities had reviewed a key commercial relationship and found no irregularities.
The federation's final communication included a title that echoed Argentina's political past: The only truth is reality. Toviggino may not have written the news release, but it certainly sounded like an ideology he supports.
On social media, Toviggino frequently shares Pope Leo XIV's messages, as well as videos and attributable quotations to Juan Domingo Perón, who was a military officer who first ruled Argentina from 1946 to 1955. He is the founder of the Peronist movement, Argentina's most influential political party.
When Tapia was ratified as AFA president by CONMEBOL in November, Toviggino reshared the confederation's social media post with: "Congratulations, Commander!! Keep quiet; do not interrupt the enemy when he is making a mistake!!"
Tapia and Toviggino, though, are now in the Argentine government's crosshairs. And it appears to be no coincidence that the pressure is coming from Argentina's populist administration under President Javier Milei.
Tapia "is destroying Argentine football," Milei told La Nación in December. And those who commit crimes, Milei said, will face justice, adding that he would not be involved in his own justice department's investigation. Milei's public criticism of Tapia has led to a war of words between government officials and the soccer federation.
In 2023, Tapia and other AFA officials supported the presidential candidacy of Milei's opponent, Sergio Massa. Toviggino has claimed that the case against the AFA is a form of political persecution. The feud reportedly led to Milei's decision not to attend the 2026 World Cup draw Dec. 5 in Washington, D.C.
Tapia, though, was at the draw, and after the event, he flew to President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. Tapia was a guest of Felix Lasarte, a Trump administration insider who facilitated a meeting between Tapia and U.S. Homeland Security officials to discuss World Cup security measures.
The meetings took place during an event that honored conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated in September. In Argentina, Tapia's Mar-a-Lago trip was seen as a power move against Milei, an ardent supporter of Trump.
In Argentina, the entire scandal has been called AFA Gate, which is a troubling comparison to FIFA Gate, the 2015 bribery case that rocked global soccer.
But business has never been better for the soccer federation. The organization recently expanded its global corporate footprint to Dubai, after a successful year in 2025 in which it secured 64 deals in 21 countries. But if its current leadership hopes to hold on to its own peninsula of power, it will have to weather a storm that only seems to intensify.
