The ESPN commentator questioned the format of the Primera División, defended the model of 20 clubs with clear relegations, and targeted the role of the teams in the voting
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The eternal debate about the terrible format of current Argentine soccer added a new chapter. In an interview for the program Giros, journalist Juan Manuel "Bambino" Pons expressed his critical view of the current competition system and compared it with European models, especially that of the Premier League, a league he regularly covers.
The ESPN commentator was clear in stating his preference for a 20-team championship, played over a full year and with defined relegations, a scheme that, as he explained, was part of his soccer culture. "I am used to a 20-team championship, from March to December," he noted, evoking a time when the domestic tournament had a higher level, greater predictability, and continuity.
In contrast, Pons expressed doubts about the viability of the current format, which today has 30 teams in the First Division and competition systems that change frequently, and the possibility of changing it in the future.
One of the most sensitive points of his analysis was the role of the clubs' leadership. Without naming names, he highlighted a contradiction that, in his view, runs through the teams: "I see that everyone is against Tapia, but everyone votes for him. Something doesn't add up."
Pons cuestionó a los dirigentes de los clubes que no votan en contra de Tapia
Meanwhile, Pons also focused on a sporting consequence of the current system: the absence of big clubs among recent champions. "With this system, in the last four championships no big club has won the title," he stated, as he listed the titles won by Estudiantes, Rosario Central, and Platense. In that sense, he left a key question hanging: "Are the big clubs going to put up with it?"
Finally, "Bambino" compared the local economic reality with that of England, where the clubs that are promoted receive millions in income from television rights. "In England, the club that gets promoted receives 70 million pounds," he explained, and he contrasted that figure with the Argentine context, where even the teams that manage to move up to the First Division lack sufficient financial backing.
En Inglaterra los clubes que ascienden ganan premios multimillonarios
Without offering definitive solutions, Pons laid out a critical view that captures a widespread feeling in the soccer world: a disorganized championship, with changing rules, little economic predictability, and leadership decisions that ultimately fail to reflect the discontent that many express publicly. A debate that, far from being settled, remains open.
