Penna Hospital denied AFA and reaffirmed the 108-million debt from the charity match
Penna Hospital reaffirmed the 108 million debt
porEditorial Team
Argentina
The Cooperadora replied to the entity's statement and maintained that all the funds from the national team's friendly match for the Bahía Blanca floods never came in
The clash between the Argentine Football Association and the Penna Hospital Cooperative added a new chapter. After AFA denied the existence of a debt of108 million pesos for the charity friendly played in March 2025 for the victims of the floods in Bahía Blanca, the hospital entity replied and confirmed that the announced funds never arrived in full.
The controversy began on Sunday, when María del Carmen Martí, president of the Cooperative, stated that the organizers of the event had publicly reported revenue of 701 million pesos from the match between the senior Argentina national team and the Under-20 team, played at Huracán's stadium. "They told us publicly that 701 million had been raised. That meant that everyone who helped make it happen did not get paid for their work," she stated.
One day later, the governing body of Argentine football issued a statement in which it described the accusation as "yet another lie" and maintained that there was no missing money. In its defense, the entity presided over by Claudio "Chiqui" Tapiareleased a document attributed to the hospital that would deny the debt and indirectly pointed at government authorities.
In response, the Penna Hospital Cooperative once again spoke out publicly and rejected AFA's version. "On Monday, January 12, AFA, through a brief statement, came out to completely deny having kept funds from the match held as part of the "Together for Bahía" campaign, a charity event aimed at supporting Penna Hospital in Bahía Blanca. It labeled it as a smear campaign against the entity, which is not true," they stated.
They also recalled a press conference held on April 16, 2025, in which AFA's general secretary, Cristian Malaspina, specified the total amount to be transferred. "It makes it clear that the amount to be transferred is $701,220,000, which never arrived in full at the hospital cooperative," they emphasized.
La utilización de los fondos del Hospital Penna
In the same publication, the entity released the video of that press conference, where Malaspina, current president of Argentinos Juniors, confirmed the amount raised, and attached screenshots of the transfers received as support for its position.
"As can be seen, the amount transferred by AFA to the Penna Hospital Cooperative is $593,309,600, leaving an outstanding debt of $107,910,400, which was never sent," they concluded.
