2026 season: AFA Executive Committee meets to plan for next year | OneFootball

With the playoffs of the season and the definition of the Torneo Clausura on the horizon, this Thursday, at the headquarters of the Professional Football League in Puerto Madero, the Executive Committee will meet to plan the next year, which will adhere to the 2025 format with Torneos Apertura and Clausura.

Additionally, the decision to not play on FIFA dates will be confirmed, start and end dates for the transfer market will be established, and a novel idea will be evaluated: replacing the interzonal matchday with a second date of classics.

With 30 teams again in two zones of 15 after the two relegations (Godoy Cruz of Mendoza and San Martín of San Juan) and awaiting the decision of the other promotion that will accompany Gimnasia y Esgrima of Mendoza, the Argentine football executives will outline the tournament dates and confirm the 2026 calendar.

A crucial decision will be to confirm that the Torneo Apertura will not have activity during the double FIFA date in March (23 to 31), where Argentina will play the Finalissima against Spain. Moreover, this decision will impact the rest of the post-World Cup FIFA dates: September 21 to October 6 and November 9 to 17, considering that before the North American World Cup (June 1 to 9) there will be no local activity.

Furthermore, an option to replace the interzonal matchday with a new date of classics while maintaining the group phase round of both tournaments in 16 matchdays will be considered.

Regarding the option to copy the English model and free some weekends for the concentrated dispute of the Copa Argentina, according to Doble Amarilla, it does not have the necessary support and the format of midweek matches and eventually some weekends as in the current season will be maintained.

With Santiago del Estero as the venue for the Torneo Clausura final on 12/13 and San Nicolás as the city to host the Trofeo de Campeones on 12/20, possible venues for the Argentine and International Supercups to be held in the first quarter of 2026 will be discussed.

Boca and River proposed a trophy for the winner of the Annual Table, among other topics to be discussed

In the meeting, the two most important clubs in the country, proposed that the winner of the Annual Table not only directly qualify for the Copa Libertadores but also win a Trophy, a situation also requested by the "champion" of the same: Rosario Central.

On the other hand, the continuity of the International Supercup was confirmed, meaning it is not under evaluation to remove it. In another part, the relegations will be discussed.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.