Football in Argentina in the context of "Culture of Argentina"

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⭐ Core Definition: Football in Argentina

Association football is the most popular sport in Argentina and part of the culture in the country. It is the one with the most players (2,658,811 total, 331,811 of which are registered and 2,327,000 unregistered; with 3,377 clubs and 37,161 officials, all according to FIFA) and is the most popular recreational sport, played from childhood into old age. The percentage of Argentines that declare allegiance to an Argentine football club is about 90%.

Football was introduced to Argentina in the later half of the 19th century by the British immigrants in Buenos Aires. The first Argentine league was contested in 1891, making it the fifth-oldest recognised league of a FIFA member (after England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Netherlands). The Argentine Football Association (AFA) was formed in 1893 and is the eighth-oldest in the world.

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Football in Argentina in the context of Argentina national football team

The Argentina national football team (Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Argentina), nicknamed la Albiceleste (lit.'the White and Sky Blue'), represents Argentina in men's international football and is administered by the Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (lit.'Argentine Football Association'), the governing body of football in Argentina. It has been a member of FIFA since 1912 and a founding member of CONMEBOL since 1916. It was also a member of PFC, the unified confederation of the Americas from 1946 to 1961.

They are the reigning world champions, having won the most recent FIFA World Cup in 2022, earning their third star shown by the team's crest. Overall, Argentina has appeared in a FIFA World Cup final six times, a record equaled by Italy and surpassed only by Brazil and Germany. Argentina played in the inaugural World Cup final in 1930, which they lost 4–2 to Uruguay. The following final appearance came 48 years later, in 1978, when the team captained by Daniel Passarella defeated the Netherlands 3–1 in extra time, becoming world champions for the first time. Captained by Diego Maradona, Argentina won their second World Cup eight years later, in 1986, with a 3–2 final victory over West Germany. They reached the final once more under the guidance of Maradona, in 1990, but were ultimately beaten 1–0 by West Germany. A few decades later, Argentina, captained by Lionel Messi made their fifth final appearance in 2014, losing to Germany 1–0 after extra time. In 2022, again captained by Messi, they were crowned world champions for the third time, the fourth-most of any country, beating France 4–2 on penalties, following a 3–3 draw after extra time. The team's World Cup–winning managers are César Luis Menotti in 1978, Carlos Bilardo in 1986 and Lionel Scaloni in 2022. In addition, Argentina has also been very successful in the Copa América, with a record 16 titles, most recently winning the 2024 edition. They are also the only nation to have won the Copa América three consecutive times: they did it in 1945, 1946 and 1947. Furthermore, Argentina won the inaugural FIFA Confederations Cup in 1992 and is the most successful team in the CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions, having won it twice, in 1993 and 2022. The national team also won the Panamerican Championship in 1960. In total, with 23 official titles won as of 2025, Argentina holds the record in senior official titles won.

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Football in Argentina in the context of Argentine Football Association

The Argentine Football Association (Spanish: Asociación del Fútbol Argentino, locally [asosjaˈsjon del ˈfuðβol aɾxenˈtino]; AFA) is the governing body of football in Argentina based in Buenos Aires. It organises the main divisions of Argentine league system (from Primera División to Torneo Regional Federal and Torneo Promocional Amateur), including domestic cups: Copa Argentina, Supercopa Argentina, Trofeo de Campeones de la Liga Profesional and the Supercopa Internacional. The body also manages all the Argentina national teams, including the Senior, U-20, U-17, U-15, Olympic and women's squads. Secondly, it also organizes the women's, children, youth, futsal, and other local leagues.

The AFA also organised all the Primera División championships from 1893 to 2016–17. From the 2017–18 season the "Superliga Argentina", an entity which was administered independently and had its own statute, took over the Primera División championships. Nevertheless, the Superliga was contractually linked with the main football body. The last championship organised by the Superliga was 2019–20, shortly after the season ended the body was dissolved.

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