AFA toughens stance: youngsters leaving can't play for Argentina | OneFootball

Hours before the start of the 2026 Apertura Tournament, a decision made quietly began to create a stir in Argentine football. The AFA, with the backing of the Professional League clubs, 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 the Argentine youth teams.

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

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

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

Legally, the departure of underage players remains valid. However, the AFA clarified that being called up to the teams is not an acquired right. This was explained a few days ago by Marcelo Bee Sellares, a lawyer specializing in sports law: “Leaving by parental authority continues to be legal, but being called up to youth teams is a sports 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 in local clubs has value, and those who choose to break that process prematurely will face sports consequences. The measure does not aim to legally stop departures, but 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.