“Three hygienic measures for Chilean football”: The refoundational plan behind Fernando Aguad’s candidacy for the presidency of the ANFP – La Tercera

In the last few hours, the name of Fernando Aguad as the candidate for the presidency of the ANFP came up strongly. The former president of Palestino has several qualities that justify his candidacy as the candidate of the opposition to the current administration, headed by Pablo Milad. The current helmsman of Chilean soccer will go for re-election. At the moment, there are no officially registered players or underdogs. Each block begins to show its cards, in order to attract support that will be key to winning the game in the elections scheduled for November 8at noon, at the Chilean soccer headquarters, located in Quilín.

The formalities are defined a while ago. “In accordance with what was agreed at the Board meeting held on September 27, 2022, I proceed to report on the election process for the new Board of Directors of the Association, which will take place on November 8, 2022, at 12: 00 hours, in ANFP offices”, the executive secretary of the organization, Sandra Kemp, officiated to the members of the Council of Presidents, on Monday the 3rd. In the same circular, the conditions for payrolls were established. “The lists presented must individualize the candidate for President and the 6 candidates for directors of the Association, and must include at least two representatives of First B clubs, in accordance with the provisions of article 24 literal a) of the Statutes. It will be appreciated to send all the necessary information for the proper individualization of the applications and compliance with the statutory and regulatory requirements. Likewise, it is requested to make, for each list, the designation of a coordinator or campaign manager for the purpose of properly channeling communications related to the electoral process, ”he stated. The race was, since then, in full development. The deadline to register the lists expires this Thursday, at 11:59 p.m.

The blocks are in the process of articulation, although each one presents, for now, more than one candidate. It is taken for granted that the ruling party will present Milad for reelection, although the name of the current vice president, Jorge Yunge, has also been mentioned as a letter. In the other sector, the first candidate to emerge was Lorenzo Antillo, former president of Audax Italiano. There the same scenario would be configured as two years ago.

Nevertheless, Aguad’s irruption would reorder the map of the opposition, although it would not erase the former head of the Audino. To understand this logic, refer to the first glimpses of the refoundational plan that the current opposition intends to promote. In fact, the option of the former president of the Arabs is linked to his accepting to be included in a formula that considers Antillo.

The “three hygienic measures for Chilean football”, as the plan has been baptized among its promoters, allow us to understand a new order. These are strong ideas that seek to convey a new stamp. The main one tends to separate the ANFP from the federationa matter that has been analyzed for a long time and that has become a requirement under pressure from the Ministry of Sport, which has also urged the establishment of a new organization.

In fact, conditioning the application of Aguad to the acceptance of the presence of Antillo has to do, precisely with that. The initial purpose is for the president of the ANFP to designate the president of the Chilean Football Federation. If the former head of Palestine is, finally, the candidate and is elected as the new strong man of professionalism, you will have to agree to locate the exaudino in the FFCH.

Alexandra Benado, the Minister of Sport, has been emphatic in requesting the separation. “It is not only my diagnosis, but there have been many opinions from Conmebol and from FIFA, and I think now is a good time to review the separation of the Federation from the ANFP.. It would be interesting, thinking about the new board that should take over this year, that could give priority attention to this situation”, he said in an interview with El Deportivo. “For a transparency issue; that functions are not effectively duplicated and that football, not only professional football but also women’s football and the other branches that stem from it, can have the importance it deserves, and this must be generated through the Football Federation of Chile and not of an association that brings together private clubs”, added the authority.

The ANFP and the FFCH will go through separate lanes. The second measure contemplated in the “hygiene” of Chilean football is related, precisely, to the organization charts of both entities. In the current order, both share the main representatives. Professionalism corresponds, by right, to designate the president. Milad occupies both heads.

In the hypothetical new order, Aguad would head the ANFP and Antillo the federation. And there will no longer be a coincidence of names: the project points out that the corporate structure of both entities will be different. That logic includesmanagement and the respective internal courts.

The most important thing in the differentiation of roles, in any case, will be the areas of competence and the products that each of the organizations will have under its umbrella. There arises a new concept in the ordering: The First Division and the First B will be at the wing of the ANFP and they will be managed as professional leagues, in the style of what happens in developed footballing countries, such as Spain, England and France. The rest of the categories will be subject to the scope of the federation.

Another significant modification follows from this new order: the Selection, in all its categories, will pass to the control of the federation, as technically corresponds according to the order established by FIFA.

The following reading has to do with the resources that each of these products generates: the professional leagues would keep those that come from television and the federation would be in charge of the millionaire amounts that La Roja generates through different commercial rights.

The clubs consulted by El Deportivo declared themselves in the process of analysis. All excused themselves from giving their opinion, considering that they still have to submit to their respective boards the decision to support one or another candidacy.

However, with the cap for the registration of the lists virtually over, in Quilín another scenario is also analyzed: that of a unit list in which, in practice, the blocks would end up dividing the respective positions. What must be defined, according to that pact, is who will assume the head of the respective organization.. The logic of the clubs behind this position is that Milad, who already has the links and international experience, as well as the link with the ANFA and other entities, maintains the head of the Federation and Antillo takes charge of the ANFP.

In this scenario, as described by one of the presidents who has participated in the talks, Milad is having a gesture of generosity, since he gives up part of the power he has in pursuit of this plan and because it also allows the achievement of the desired unity of the clubs ahead of an election.