Since the distant times of Julio Humberto Grondona, the Argentine team has been the most important asset of the AFA, its main source of financing. The income generated by the glorious light blue and white jersey finances promotion football, which would otherwise be economically unviable, and a good part of the administrative operation and the different services provided by the entity.
But this entire million-dollar mechanism has multiplied several times since December 18, 2022, when Lionel Messi lifted the World Cup at the Lusail stadium in Doha, in Qatar. From that moment on, the national team has become one of the most coveted spectacles in the world of baseball.
The explosive combination of the world title and the presence of a global celebrity like Messi has made income fly. The final number is kept under seven keys and it is almost impossible to get to it. But the mention of the different sponsors allows us to imagine how much money enters the Viamonte Street treasury annually. And how far does the box managed by President Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia go to align almost all the leaders of Argentine football behind him.
A true billing machine, the team currently has two global sponsors (Adidas and American Express), 11 official sponsors of which only five are national companies (YPF, Banco Nación, Sancor Seguros, Zanella and Naldo), six digital sponsors, 19 sponsors regional partners, most of them of Asian origin, a video game partner (Konami), an official fan token (Socios.com), two commercial partners and five official suppliers.
In addition, there are dozens of firms on the waiting list willing to pay whatever AFA has in order to link their brand to the triumphant image of the world champions.
For this reason, in the few Fifa dates designated for playing friendlies, President Tapia ruled out facing the most powerful European teams and took the team to China and the United States to conquer new markets and sponsors and increase the turnover that supports the mother company. of football. The business is not touched.
According to estimates from the sports marketing environment, last year, the National Team produced sponsorship income of around 80 million dollars. And this without taking into account what he charges for each match (6 million dollars for each friendly). And the television contracts signed with Telefé, TyC Sports and Direct TV to broadcast the Copa América and the next three windows of the South American qualifiers.
Needless to say, all these numbers will increase if Argentina manages to retain the Copa América that it will begin defending next Thursday against Canada. Each contract provides for automatic readjustments if football successes continue to be achieved. Next to them, the amount that will have to be charged for effective participation in the oldest continental national team tournament in the world is lower.
Conmebol will distribute 72 million dollars among the 10 participating teams, of which the first four will share a bigger prize: 4 million for fourth place, 5 million for third, 7 million for the runner-up and 16 million for the champion.
Argentina points to this last sum, which is little compared to the 52 million euros that “Chiqui” Tapia brought from Qatar along with the World Cup. But the glory remains incalculable.
