Primera Nacional start in doubt: 9 days left, no TV deal yet | OneFootball

The start of the promotion football championship, specifically the Primera Nacional, is delayed and its scheduled start for Friday, February 13th is in limbo, even after a previous postponement in its original schedule. Just days before the scheduled date, the Argentine Football Association has not provided clear indications about who will broadcast the matches, causing great concern among the clubs involved.

The Struggle for Broadcasting

The root of the problem lies in the differences of opinion between the AFA president, Claudio "Chiqui" Tapia, and the treasurer, regarding the continuation of Torneos y Competencias. The contract with the company, which has ties to the Clarín Group, is said to have ended. The AFA president seems to disregard political pressure and newspaper headlines, understanding that the most important thing is the AFA and the clubs.

The reality is that if the only existing offer is from the Clarín Group or TyC Sports, and no agreement is reached, the crucial question arises: who will provide the money to broadcast the matches if TyC Sports is not involved? Evidently, no one else has presented a firm offer, which has led to the current situation.

The Option of AFA Play and Cacioli's Analysis

As of now, the safest option, according to available information, would be for the broadcasting to be handled by AFA Play, the AFA's digital platform. On the program "Ascenso x3", journalist Daniel Cacioli explained the situation, indicating that AFA Play is the closest option, although it might initially not be a paid service and later transition to a subscription model.

The main issue, beyond the general economic situation of the country, is that Argentines are "used to not paying" for football, a habit rooted since the "Fútbol para Todos" era. However, if the promotion does not secure a significant number of subscribers (around 100,000 is mentioned), the project would not be viable. For the B Nacional, it is rumored that the subscription cost would be around 10,000 pesos, or 10 dollars.

Consequences and Perspectives

The lack of concrete decisions by the AFA has created an atmosphere of uncertainty, with B Nacional clubs fearing they won't even receive the 50 million pesos monthly they previously earned. The situation is even more critical for lower categories like the B Metropolitana or C, where producers have already stated that continuing is unfeasible due to high expenses that cannot be recovered.

In summary, the news today is the "non-news." There was no key meeting that was supposed to take place to advance the AFA Play issue, and until the AFA makes a final decision, the start of the tournament will remain up in the air.

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