Argentina's football team raising the flag "The Malvinas belong to Argentina" 

From New Socialist Workers Party of Argentina 

During and after the World Cup, social media was flooded with campaigns portraying Argentina as the villain. "Argentina is racist," "Argentina is favored by the referees," "Argentina is Zionist," "Argentina cheats," "Trump supports Argentina": social media was filled with all sorts of slogans accompanied by conspiracy theories claiming that the team had the support of the CIA, Trump, Israel, or that the World Cup was predetermined to end up in Argentina's hands.

The situation became even more confusing when new, even more outlandish, explanations about the origin of these campaigns began to proliferate. Some claimed that "the campaigns are by Putin and the Russians"; others asserted that they came from "Israel and Zionism," adding even more absurd explanations to those already circulating.

Soon after, theories also began to emerge from within Argentina itself. "The final was lost because Argentina was punished for the Falklands flag," some claimed, along with a long series of conspiracy theories irresponsibly disseminated by political leaders, social figures, and journalists. These cross-accusations and all sorts of outlandish claims serve one purpose: to obscure the reality behind the phenomenon.

The reality is that behind these campaigns there is a fierce dispute between large business groups for control of the multi-billion dollar football business, a fight that also includes control of the Argentine National Team.

In this article, we will explain the nature of this dispute and why it is the real reason behind so many campaigns and theories about Argentina. To do so, we will begin by analyzing how the Argentine national team transformed into a gigantic money-making machine by becoming one of the most popular national teams in the world.

From a Marxist perspective, we maintain that this explanation cannot be offered by those who defend capitalism, whether from Peronism, La Libertad Avanza, or PRO, because they all share the defense of the same system whose decay gives rise to such campaigns of hatred and violence. Nor can the reformist currents of the FIT-U, increasingly focused on electoralism and the struggle for positions within the regime, offer it.

We will analyze this struggle between businesspeople, bankers, and political sectors to seize control of the enormous profits generated by the world's most popular sport. We will begin by examining how this dispute plays out in Argentina and then see how it manifests itself on the global capitalist stage.

A dispute over control of the multi-million dollar businesses of the world's most popular national team

Influencers, Hollywood actors, sports journalists from every continent, political leaders, pundits, and all kinds of public figures have weighed in on Argentina because any content related to the national team guarantees thousands of clicks, views, and interactions, regardless of its quality. This is because the Argentine national team is currently one of the most popular national teams in the world, with millions of followers spread across seven continents—a level of recognition that very few teams have achieved and that even surpasses that of historical powerhouses like Brazil or Germany.

A single statistic illustrates the scale of this phenomenon: more than a third of the world's population lives in China and India, and in both countries, Argentina is the most popular foreign team. The same is true in populous Asian countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia, where the national team enjoys massive support. It also occurs in numerous countries in Africa, Latin America, Europe, and even North America, where Argentine merchandise far surpasses that of other national teams.

What accounts for such popularity? Undoubtedly, the consolidation of the "Scaloneta" (a nickname for the team) and the presence of who many consider the greatest footballer of all time, Lionel Messi, were key factors. However, attributing this phenomenon solely to Messi would be a mistake.

The reality is that in the last fifty years, Argentina has played in six of the thirteen World Cup finals, meaning they reached the final in almost half of the tournaments held during that period. Adding to this remarkable sporting feat is the fact that the national team has become the most successful in the Copa América. In countries like Bangladesh, Scotland, India, and Ireland, Argentina's popularity stretches back more than four decades, to the era of Diego Maradona and the "Hand of God" goal in their historic victory at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. It is the accumulation of sporting successes over decades that has allowed Argentina to occupy a privileged place in world football and boast two of the three greatest footballers in history: Maradona and Messi.

How did Argentina come to occupy that position? Herein lies one of the most striking aspects of the phenomenon. Argentina did not achieve this status by being an economic powerhouse, nor by having large investments or multinational corporations behind its football development. On the contrary, it is a developing capitalist country, with a large part of its population living in poverty and an economy of little relative weight on the world stage. From the perspective of capitalism, nothing would indicate that it could become one of the most powerful sports brands on the planet.

What explains the Argentine phenomenon is another reality. For decades, millions of children and young people from working-class and poor neighborhoods have been playing soccer on makeshift pitches and humble fields. From this enormous breeding ground emerge thousands of exceptionally talented soccer players who later shine in the world's top leagues and, in many cases, are transferred for millions of dollars.

Argentina also produces coaches, physical trainers, specialized journalists, and a vast football-related industry. At the same time, it boasts a vibrant football culture with fans who create internationally recognized songs, flags, and chants. Ultimately, Argentina's global standing can only be understood through the grassroots drive of a poor population that invests every last penny so their children can compete in this sport. This is the true material foundation upon which Argentina's rise in world football was built.

As a result of this location, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) earns well over $100 to $150 million annually, a figure that increases during years when major international competitions are held. The AFA has signed more than fifty commercial agreements in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas with companies such as Adidas and various international brands in technology, food, cryptocurrencies, and betting, generating between $70 and $80 million per season.

International tournaments also contribute between two and four million dollars per matchday from ticket sales alone. In addition, there are approximately three million dollars for each friendly match, plus prize money earned in major international competitions: 33 million dollars for the 2026 World Cup runner-up finish, 16 million for the 2024 Copa América, and 42 million for winning the Qatar World Cup.

The enormous amount of money generated by the Argentine national team has unleashed a fierce dispute for control of that business, a fight that in itself reflects the decay of Argentina's ruling classes. The corruption cases involving political and football officials are merely a symptom of this process.

In that context, another conspiracy theory emerged: that Argentina was deliberately wronged in the final. However, the national team displayed a lower level of performance during the World Cup than they had shown in the qualifiers. They arrived at the tournament with numerous players in poor physical condition. Although these are millionaire footballers, they are also subjected to intense pressure by major European clubs, and many arrived at the championship with injuries or significant physical exhaustion.

Argentina suffered the consequences of that situation throughout the tournament. At the highest competitive level, competing in a World Cup with an injured squad means conceding enormous disadvantages. In the final, they also lost both of their central defenders, and several players performed well below their physical peak. The defeat against Spain was the logical outcome of that process. The result was clear, and there was no conspiracy.

So, where does the campaign claiming that Argentina lost the final due to threats or political pressure come from? It's a campaign driven by a sector of Peronism to divert attention from the shady dealings involving the AFA leadership, deliberately conflating the sporting result with the investigations into alleged illegal activities affecting that institution, a matter we will analyze below

A Peronist campaign to hide business dealings with Milei and the PRO party

To understand the meaning of this campaign, it is helpful to ask a simple question: where does all the money generated by the Argentine National Team go?

That enormous amount of resources doesn't reach the clubs that make up the AFA, nor the thousands of children who play soccer, nor their families, nor the neighborhood clubs. The exact opposite is happening. While the clubs are going through serious financial difficulties—many of them practically bankrupt—the neighborhood institutions survive with enormous effort, and families must make ever-greater sacrifices to support their children's participation in sports, a small group of leaders concentrates the profits of the business.

That enormous amount of money generated by the Argentine National Team ends up in the hands of a group of unscrupulous AFA leaders linked to Peronism, headed by its president, Claudio "Chiqui" Tapia , and by treasurer Pablo Toviggino , along with a circle of officials who used those resources to accumulate millionaire fortunes.

The AFA's business dealings are closely linked to the growth of sports betting through agreements with companies such as Betsson, Betano, BetWarrior, Bplay and Codere, which sponsor tournaments organized by the association and maintain sponsorship contracts for jerseys, stadium advertising and digital campaigns.

These agreements also involve businessmen historically linked to the gambling business in Argentina, such as Daniel "Tano" Angelici , a leading figure in the PRO party with a strong presence in the bingo and casino sector, and Martín Insaurralde , a Peronist leader associated with another important segment of casinos, racetracks and gambling halls.

Furthermore, AFA officials maintain ties with the financial firm Sur Finanzas , an institutional sponsor of various tournaments and clubs. This situation creates a system where the AFA organizes championships, appoints referees, and enforces disciplinary procedures, but simultaneously receives millions of dollars from companies whose revenues depend directly on the results and actions generated during matches. This situation has fueled growing suspicions about the transparency of certain refereeing decisions and sporting outcomes.

Sur Finanzas ceased to be solely a financial institution, expanding into activities related to mining, construction, currency exchange services, cryptocurrencies, and providing loans to soccer clubs. Part of its accumulated capital allowed it to develop a network of exchange houses registered with the Central Bank, which, during the last Peronist administration, allegedly exploited the SIRA system to simulate import operations. This mechanism supposedly allowed them to access dollars at the official exchange rate and then resell them on the parallel market, obtaining extraordinary profits. All of this occurred during Sergio Massa's tenure as Minister of Economy, within the framework of the currency controls.

These illicit maneuvers by companies linked to the AFA allowed a small elite to amass a fortune by reselling dollars. All of this occurred while the population's purchasing power was being eroded by semi-hyperinflation that was pushing millions into poverty. While hospitals, universities, businesses, and citizens faced enormous difficulties accessing foreign currency to import supplies and equipment, certain exchange houses linked to Sur Finanzas obtained privileged access to the official market by simulating imports and paying bribes ranging from 10% to 20% to intermediaries and officials, intended to expedite or guarantee the approval of SIRA permits.

Thus, the businesses that linked AFA leaders with the "czars" of gambling, related to both Peronism and PRO, along with sectors of the Milei government and officials of the Judiciary, allowed the accelerated enrichment of the AFA leaders, their front men and part of the country's political leadership.

Over time, various allegations began to surface regarding the assets of officials linked to the AFA (Argentine Football Association). These included luxury properties in Pilar, such as a gigantic country house with a helipad, a collection of more than 100 high-end vehicles, and other assets inconsistent with their officially declared income, in a country where more than half the population lives below the poverty line.

Other incidents also gained public attention, such as the appearance of Martín Insaurralde—a Peronist leader and political ally of Máximo Kirchner—on a luxury yacht in the Mediterranean with a model, or the release of images showing his ex-wife, Jésica Cirio, displaying millions of dollars stored in closet drawers. These events fueled suspicions of illicit enrichment schemes and brought into the spotlight operators, intermediaries, and alleged front men such as Elías Piccirillo, Francisco Auque, Víctor Donadía, and Juan de Jesús, among others.

But while these businesses are primarily controlled by Peronism, the shady dealings are not limited to this old, decaying bourgeois party. The PRO and La Libertad Avanza parties also appear to be linked to various aspects of this scheme.

An example of this is the appointment of Juan Bautista Mahiques as Minister of Justice in Javier Milei's government. Mahiques had previously been appointed by Claudio Tapia as Vice-Rector of the AFA University. Furthermore, his family maintains a strong presence within the Judiciary, and Esteban Mahiques , the minister's brother, served on the AFA's Disciplinary Tribunal.

These appointments are part of a web of agreements between sectors of the ruling party, the leadership of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), and a faction of Peronism, aimed at guaranteeing varying levels of political and judicial protection. With Mahiques' appointment, the ruling party hopes to reach an agreement with the AFA leadership and a sector of Peronism: it's about securing impunity for Milei's corruption cases in exchange for impunity for Tapia and Toviggino. The corruption allegations should therefore be understood as an expression of the struggle between different factions of the ruling classes for control of the enormous profits generated by the Argentine national team.

Milei's appointment of Diego Santilli as Chief of Staff following Manuel Adorni 's departure follows this same logic. Santilli is a PRO party leader closely linked to Cristian Ritondo —both of whom can hardly explain their fortunes and properties—and both are deeply involved in the world of football and are also members of the party of former president Mauricio Macri , who also holds positions at FIFA.

International tours and friendly matches generate such substantial revenue that the Argentine Football Association (AFA) promoted the creation of a US-based company, TourProdEnter LLC , managed by businessman Javier Faroni . According to various investigations, this company managed contracts worth approximately $450 million, with the funds being deposited in US banks and on Wall Street.

This caught the attention of the FBI and US judges who began investigating the multi-million dollar contracts of TourProdEnter LLC on suspicion of money laundering, in which AFA officials were allegedly involved along with political leaders, journalists, models, and lawyers.

The campaign by sectors of Peronism claiming that "Argentina was wronged" seeks to obscure this plot, which exposes the dispute between political factions of the Argentine ruling class for control of the lucrative revenue stream that the Argentine National Team represents. The corrupt, predatory, and depraved nature of the Argentine bourgeoisie explains the conspiracy theories emanating from our country regarding the Argentine National Team.

A battle between FIFA and UEFA for control of the multi-billion dollar business of world football

The dispute over the millions of dollars generated by the Argentine national team is child's play compared to the battle for control of the global football business. It is in this latter arena that another set of "anti-Argentina" campaigns, which are circulating strongly around the world, originated.

In the midst of the global crisis of capitalism ( which you can read about by clicking here ), with the gigantic global corporations that control it bankrupt and bailed out by the central banks of imperialist countries, football consolidated itself as one of the most profitable industries on the planet. It is estimated that the global business generates more than $200 billion a year, a figure comparable to the Gross Domestic Product of several countries. The global business of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) has become one of the most powerful and profitable entertainment industries on the planet.

The deepening capitalist crisis intensified competition among large economic groups to seize new sources of profit. The struggle for control of international football must be understood within this context.

The confrontation between capitalist groups based in the United States and Europe began to acquire a decisive dimension a decade ago, when the scandal known as FIFAgate broke out .

At the request of the US Justice Department, Swiss police raided the Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich and arrested several high-ranking FIFA officials just days before the re-election of its then-president, Joseph Blatter. The investigations revealed a bribery scheme in which companies paid tens of millions of dollars to FIFA officials and representatives of various national federations to secure commercial rights and contracts related to major international tournaments.

The scandal erupted shortly after Qatar was chosen to host the World Cup, a decision the United States considered an affront because they had hoped to host the tournament. From that moment on, Washington increased its intervention in FIFA and partially displaced the European groups that had previously held a dominant position within the organization.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI led the investigation because a large portion of the financial transactions under investigation were conducted through banks based in the United States. The court cases described a scheme involving money laundering, wire fraud, and bribery aimed at influencing the selection of World Cup host countries, which for years involved soccer officials and executives from sports marketing companies.

More than forty officials and institutions were charged, with fines and asset forfeitures exceeding $200 million. Joseph Blatter resigned as FIFA president after being suspended by the Ethics Committee, while Michel Platini , then president of UEFA, was banned. This was compounded by the downfall of numerous national federation presidents and businesspeople who pleaded guilty in exchange for plea bargains with U.S. authorities.

Following FIFAgate, Gianni Infantino assumed the presidency of FIFA, consolidating a new balance of power that partially displaced the economic groups of European imperialist countries, grouped in the Union of European Football Association (UEFA) , from control of the business .

This same process must include various strategic decisions within the business of football, such as the arrival of Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and other international figures to Major League Soccer (MLS) , strengthening the position of the United States within the dispute to control the business of the global football industry.

From this perspective, the Argentine national team became embroiled in an international dispute that extends far beyond sports. Much of the campaign portraying Argentina as a "racist," "Zionist," "referee-favored," or "cheating" country originated from UEFA, sectors of European imperialism, and the Progressive International, insofar as they identified the Argentine Football Association (AFA) as an ally of the bloc led by Gianni Infantino within FIFA.

These campaigns sought to create a negative image of the Argentine National Team, portraying it as reactionary, discriminatory, and deceitful, positioning it in the role of "villain," attempting to erode the popularity that Argentina had built up over decades in the world.

The reality is that major European corporations continue to control the most profitable core of the football business. The continent's top five leagues—the English Premier League, the Spanish La Liga, the Italian Serie A, the German Bundesliga, and the French Ligue 1—generate between $35 billion and $40 billion annually.

The leagues also control millions of dollars in television rights, sponsorships, ticket sales and hospitality, fan travel, hotel bookings, spending in restaurants and bars on match days, as well as video game licenses—such as the EA Sports FC series—and digital content rights. Europe remains the heart and main center of the global football business.

For this reason, major European sports corporations need the continent's national teams—such as England, Germany, France, Spain, and the Netherlands—to maintain their commercial leadership in strategic Asian and African markets. The growing popularity of the Argentine national team in these markets poses an obstacle to these economic interests.

Consequently, the Argentine team ended up being a victim of the dispute between FIFA and UEFA.

The international campaign, waged primarily through social media, reached a high level of aggression. It was this climate that gave rise to Lionel Messi's now-famous pep talk to the team: " Let's go out and play and ignore what's being said outside ," a phrase that, paradoxically, also ended up fueling new conspiracy theories.

However, as the tournament progressed, many of those campaigns began to lose momentum in the face of unfolding events. Added to this was another element that permeated the 2026 World Cup in the United States: the eruption of political and social conflicts that reflected, in a distorted way, the international crisis and the class struggle.

The class struggle reared its head in "the World Cup of missiles"

The reality is that, amidst the cross-campaigns, the class struggle ended up erupting even in the 2026 World Cup in the United States. The crisis of capitalism not only intensifies the competition between different economic groups for control of big business, but also projects—in a distorted way—onto major sporting events, many of the revolutionary processes that are sweeping the world and confronting capitalism.

While the tournament was being played, the United States resumed bombing Iran, amid a revolutionary war that they are losing along with Israel, whose aggression against the Middle Eastern country has been a failure.

That conflict also left its mark on the World Cup. One of the most scandalous episodes was the treatment of the Iranian national team. US authorities prevented them from establishing themselves in the United States on equal terms with the other delegations, forcing them to undertake extensive travel during the competition—an unsportsmanlike and discriminatory act. Similarly, Donald Trump's public intervention to try to alleviate the sanction imposed on US soccer player Folarin Balogun was controversial .

The seating arrangements of the presidents of Mexico and Canada were utterly shameful, pro-imperialist, and a complete display of subservience to US imperialism. But the class struggle also reared its ugly head when the Searching Mothers of Mexico seized upon the international attention surrounding the World Cup to mobilize in front of Azteca Stadium and denounce the forced disappearances and impunity policies of the capitalist government of Morena and Claudia Sheinbaum , which brutally repressed the demonstration. ( We have reported on the mobilization with some of its courageous mothers in Marxist Focus, which you can see by clicking here .)

The struggle of the Palestinian people and the Third Intifada also manifested itself during the tournament. Among these was the public statement by the Egyptian coach in support of the Palestinian cause. In contrast, there was a shameful display of the Israeli flag by some Argentine supporters. However, the class struggle unexpectedly resurfaced, creating a situation that posed difficulties for both the World Cup organizers and the governments of the United States and Israel.

In the semifinals, the match pairings set up another edition of the classic Argentina-England rivalry. With the aim of preventing any anti-imperialist demonstrations linked to the claim to the Falkland Islands, FIFA—under Trump's administration and in conjunction with the governments and delegations of England and Argentina—agreed to prohibit the entry of flags or symbols related to that claim. The Argentine government readily accepted this measure, an attitude consistent with the pro-imperialist orientation of Javier Milei's government.

However, at the end of the match, an unexpected event occurred: after Argentina's victory, the players themselves unfurled a banner made from a hotel sheet with the inscription "The Falklands are Argentine ," which had been smuggled in by Argentine fans. The images circulated around the world within minutes and provoked protests from the authorities and the English delegation.

That episode represented a major setback for imperialist governments, NATO, Trump, and FIFA itself. It was also a significant blow to Milei's government. Campaigns claiming that "Trump supports Argentina" or portraying the national team as a tool of Zionism were utterly discredited after this incident.

The reality is that the Falklands flag raised by the Argentine players once again expressed the irruption of the class struggle into the World Cup, by championing a cause linked to the anti-imperialist struggle and the national liberation processes that have several epicenters around the world, such as Palestine, the Basque Country, Catalonia, Ukraine, the Houthis, Kashmir, etc. At the same time, the final result itself weakened another of the most widespread conspiracy theories: the idea that the World Cup was organized to favor the Argentine team.

Once the tournament was over, practically the only campaign that retained any semblance of relevance was the one that labeled Argentina a "racist" country. This characterization stems from a profound ignorance of the country's history.

Argentina has never had a system of racial segregation as a political system, unlike the United States or South Africa. On the contrary, it has historically been a country that receives immigrants, welcoming millions of European workers displaced by wars and poverty, and continues to receive millions of immigrants from all over Latin America who have access to free public healthcare and world-renowned public universities.

Although Argentina received less Afro-descendant immigration than other countries on the continent, it began the process of abolishing slavery very early: in 1812, the arrival of ships carrying slaves was prohibited; in 1813, the "freedom of wombs" law was approved—by the Assembly of the Year XIII—whereby the children of enslaved women were born free; in 1853, the National Constitution declared that there were no longer any slaves in the country; and finally, in 1860, the National Constitution was adopted throughout the territory. This process was remarkably progressive for its time, as it protected the rights of African Americans 53 years before the United States (1865) and 76 years before Brazil (1888).

This is why it's absurd to define Argentina as a racist country. Furthermore, it's one of the few countries where professional football hasn't been privatized. Where clubs have been transformed into private companies—as in Mexico, Chile, and Brazil—national teams have lost prominence and collapsed. The owners of these corporate-run clubs have no interest in contributing players or making significant efforts to support their national teams.

But in Argentina, football is not privatized. In our country, the defense of the civil association system was not the product of the will of bourgeois politicians—Peronists, Radicals, Libertarians, PRO members, etc.—who are undermining and corrupting it, nor of the corrupt leadership of the AFA, but rather of the resistance and mobilization developed by broad sectors of the population who also defend other public and social institutions, such as universities, healthcare, and public education.

Capitalism has nothing left to offer except "anti-Argentine" campaigns, the product of a fierce dispute between predatory capitalist groups capable of inventing all kinds of dirty tricks, based on hatred, lies, and violence, to defend their profits. This economic system destroys everything it touches; just look at what it did to an athlete like Diego Maradona ( as you can read by clicking here ).

These reactionary campaigns highlight the decay of the capitalist system itself. Incapable of offering humanity a way out, it only produces more hatred, more oppression, and more misery. To preserve the privileges of the wealthiest 1%, it fosters division among workers and peoples of different nations, while condemning the remaining 99% to a growing deterioration of their living conditions.

The bourgeoisie, the social class that sustains the capitalist system and drives campaigns like the one waged against Argentina, is undergoing a profound process of decay. That is why we maintain that, both in our country and throughout the world, the only way forward is to abolish capitalism in order to end poverty, exploitation, and all forms of oppression. This is the objective we propose from the New Socialist Workers' Party.