The Undersecretary of University Policies considered the entity's statement insufficient and required it to adapt its name and communications to the Higher Education Law
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Within the framework of the National Government's decision to enforce the law without exceptions, the Ministry of Human Capital formally ordered the Argentine Football Association (AFA) to rectify its actions regarding the so-called “UNAFA,” after considering the statement submitted by the entity chaired by Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia to be “insufficient and inconsistent.”
The notification was publicly confirmed by Alejandro Álvarez, Undersecretary of University Policies of the Nation, who wrote on his X account: “Today we notified AFA of the response to its statement, which we consider insufficient and inconsistent. We urge the institution to rectify its actions regarding the so-called ‘UNAFA’”. Along with that message, the official attached the extensive official communiqué that supports the State's position.
''UNAFA.''
According to the document, the Government analyzed AFA's arguments in detail and concluded that there are multiple contradictions between what was officially reported and the institutional material that the entity itself disseminated through its formal channels.
In its statement, AFA maintained that the acronym “UNAFA” doesn't refer to a university, but identifies an educational project that “operates as a football study center and not as a university institution.” It also stated that its current academic offering is limited to six diploma programs related to sports, without undergraduate or graduate degrees.
However, the Undersecretariat of University Policies verified that this version directly collides with the documentation still available in AFA's own official records. In particular, it cites Bulletin No. 6783, corresponding to the Ordinary Assembly of October 28, 2025, where in item 3 of the Agenda, under the title “AFA UNIVERSITY” (pages 5 to 7), the project is formally presented as a university institution.
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During that assembly, the accountant and PhD in Administration Alberto Edgardo Barbieri spoke before President Claudio Tapia, Treasurer Pablo Tovillino, the Executive Committee and the assembly members. There he stated verbatim: “Today is a very special day for the Argentine Football Association in particular and for education in general, because today I have the honor of briefly presenting to you what will be, and already is, a reality, the University of Argentine Football that we are going to call UNAFA.” Later on, he added: “In the first quarter of 2026 we will already launch the first programs of this University, which will consist of courses, diploma programs, master's degrees…”, listing areas such as medicine, psychology, economics, law, artificial intelligence and leadership.
The official communiqué also mentions that this assembly can be viewed on AFA's YouTube channel, where the full video of the Ordinary and Extraordinary General Assembly remains published, and that on November 4, 2025 AFA released a note titled “Official launch UNAFA”, in which the initiative was defined as “a university institution created to train, research and project the knowledge of Argentine Football throughout the world”. There, diploma programs and a Master's Degree in Management of Sports Entities were announced, with enrollment open for 2026.
The State also recorded that, after the initial order, AFA removed content: the website universidadafa.com, the original Instagram account and TikTok are no longer available. The remaining accounts changed their name to “UNAFA Study Center of the Argentine Football Association,” although inconsistencies persist. On LinkedIn, for example, the “About” section still states: “We are the first university of a sports federation in Latin America” and mentions diploma programs and master's degrees.
In addition, a YouTube channel was detected under the name @UniversidadAFA, where it is stated: “As of today, that school has a university”, accompanied by the phrase: “The creation of UNAFA constitutes a historic milestone: a space for university education, research and innovation.”
In light of this situation, the Government urged AFA to rectify what was presented at its assembly of October 28, 2025, to adjust the name and content of its official accounts and to comply strictly with the Higher Education Law No. 24,521. The communiqué warns that, if it doesn't do so, the provisions of Article 68 of the regulation will be applied, without prejudice to other legal responsibilities.
