AFA gets tough: youngsters leaving can't play for Argentina | OneFootball

Hours before the start of the 2026 Apertura Tournament, a decision made quietly has started to make noise in Argentine football. The AFA, with the backing of the clubs in the Professional League, has moved forward with a regulation that will have a significant impact on youth football: players who leave for abroad using parental authority will no longer be called up to Argentina’s youth national teams.

The resolution was discussed and supported in a meeting of LPF officials, where an initiative that the organizing body of Argentine football had been working on for weeks was revisited. The trigger was the case of Luca Scarlato, a River youth player who, at just 16 years old, was set to leave the club using his parents’ right of parental authority to continue his career in Europe.

The intention behind the measure, as explained internally, is to organize the training process and discourage early departures that, according to the officials, affect both the sporting development of the players and the investment made by the clubs. The regulation has already been published in the official AFA bulletin, so its implementation will be immediate.

“There are agents who do things that harm the clubs. This decision is to protect our youth players,” said Nicolás Russo, president of Lanús, after the meeting. The position was shared by the majority of institutions, who are increasingly concerned by the recurrence of this type of maneuver.

Legally, the departure of underage footballers remains valid. However, the AFA clarified that being called up to the national teams is not an acquired right. This was explained a few days ago by Marcelo Bee Sellares, a lawyer specializing in sports law: “Leaving through parental authority remains legal, but being called up to youth national teams is a sporting decision. It is not a disciplinary sanction, but a measure to protect the training clubs.”

With this decision, the AFA seeks to set a clear precedent: training at local clubs has value, and those who choose to break that process prematurely will face sporting consequences. The measure does not aim to legally block departures, but rather to discourage them by removing one of the main showcases for youth players, which is the national team.

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