The AFA announced the creation of a new division: the Argentine Interior Tournament

Amid its judicial tensions, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) confirmed the creation of a new category for the promotion of the interior. This is the Argentine Interior Tournament (TAI), a semiprofessional competition that will begin to be played in 2027 and will be located between the Federal Tournament A and the Regional Federal Amateur Tournament

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The announcement was made in Córdoba during the third meeting of the Federal Council, which brought together more than 4,000 leaders at the Ángel Sandrín stadium in Instituto. There, the corrupt president of the AFA, Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia, presented the project and highlighted the objective of expanding the representation of the provinces in national tournaments

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"We are going to play a new professional and federal tournament. Each province will have a team playing. The AFA is going to do the same as it does with women's football and with First C: each team that represents its province will have eight professional contracts,” said the leader during his speech

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The new championship will have a semiprofessional status and will have, at least, 64 teams distributed in eight regions of eight clubs each. The format will include a group stage and then instances of playoffs, with a schedule that will run from April to November

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In terms of its sporting performance, the Argentine Interior Tournament will grant six promotions to Federal A and will register 16 annual descents to the Regional Federal Amateur Tournament. In theory, the initiative seeks to organize the competitive pyramid of promotion and provide greater continuity and stability to clubs in the interior of the country

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The creation of this category also implies a transition phase in 2026. That year, Federal A will be held from March to December and will grant two promotions to the First National, in addition to four descents to the new tournament that will begin

in 2027.

For its part, the Regional Federal Amateur Tournament will award 16 places for the debut of the TAI, two for each region, while the rest of the places will be filled out on institutional merit, taking into account factors such as infrastructure, history

and legal status of the clubs.

Another important announcement was the economic equalization between Federal A and First Metropolitan B. Until now, clubs in the third category in the interior received about 12 million pesos, while those in the B Metro received around 20 million. With the new measure, both tournaments will receive the same amount

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Tapia's defense of the 30-team tournament and his thanks to the “Secanucas”

Upon closing his exhibition, Chiqui came out once again to support the disastrous format of the First Division and also the even more paperonish format of the National B, arguing a supposed territorial inclusion.

“That's why we have a 30-team tournament, that's why we have a First National with 36 teams, because we defend federalism. That's why we have the Copa País, so that all the provinces of the interior are represented,” he said

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“We decided that football should be federal, not that it should go everywhere, that we could be on the side of each of the clubs that they really needed at some point and that federalism would give teams, referees and coaches the possibility to lead throughout our country,” he added.

It should be mentioned that, despite having more teams than in previous years, the top flight of Argentine football currently has 19 teams from CABA and the Province of Buenos Aires, while the rest are only from 5 other provinces (Santa Fe, Córdoba, Mendoza, Santiago del Estero and Tucumán), so the story of federalism

has no head or foot.

On the other hand, the nefarious president of the AFA thanked his minions for their support. “I want to say thank you to each of the leaders who are accompanying us. All from the interior who represent clubs from all over the country in each region. Thanks to all of you for joining us, thank you for believing and thank you because we all have to understand that football is only one and football is for everyone,” he concluded

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