As evidenced by the 2026 World Cup, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) has become an increasingly international brand that leverages soccer’s global reach to maximize its economic impact.
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That commercial success is driven on and off the field by Leo Messi, a player and businessman whose long-term projects are intertwined with AFA’s investments.
Leandro Petersen, AFA’s marketing director, is convinced that even after Messi retires from competition, he will continue representing his country around the world.
“It will happen naturally. He has demonstrated a love for his country first and for the Argentina national team that, in my view, goes beyond the soccer field. He has long since surpassed what sports are all about. I think he is an ambassador for Argentina around the world today,” he said.
“There is a great deal of future between the AFA brand and the Leo Messi brand. When he stops playing — and hopefully that won’t be for a long time, although it will happen eventually — we already have a plan in place with his entire team. I think there are many things we can do with him as an ambassador once he retires as well,” Petersen added.
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“Today, China and India are the two most important markets for AFA’s economy. We have more than 10 sponsors in each country. The United States is the third-largest market, and it is growing at a very rapid pace,” AFA’s marketing director stated.
“Today, the AFA brand is a communications platform that adapts to every culture, and I think that is what we must sustain for many more years so that this becomes fully consolidated,” he added.
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When Petersen took over AFA’s marketing department, the organization was going through one of the most difficult periods in its history. It had five sponsors and had been placed under the oversight of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA). Nine years later, it has more than 120 commercial partners, with new agreements being added almost every week.
“After receiving the call from FIFA authorities, we started from scratch, with no operations anywhere outside Argentina. Today, we truly have a global community of fans,” he said.
“I think this reflects a strong brand, a global brand, an attractive brand, and a very large communications platform for many multinational companies that trust everything we do. There is a tremendous future for the AFA brand. We continue pursuing the vision of becoming a brand like the NBA, the NFL, the Premier League, Spain’s LaLiga and Real Madrid,” he added.
For AFA, those organizations are not competitors but complements that help the federation learn and grow alongside them. Petersen, in particular, points to the NBA’s model because of its global reach.
“We learn from everyone. I think the NBA’s model is an excellent one because it is more global. The NFL may be stronger economically, but it is a more local model focused on the United States. For us, being global is much more closely tied to soccer. Soccer is the world’s global sport. I think Formula 1 and the NBA are the two models we look to the most,” Petersen said.
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Diego Maradona’s Enduring Legacy
What Messi represents today for Argentina began with Diego Maradona’s achievements on the field. He died in November 2020, but his legacy remains highly influential and powerful from a business standpoint.
“Without realizing it, because there were no social media at the time, Diego was a great ambassador for AFA and Argentine soccer, as well as for Napoli, Boca Juniors and every place where he played, because he truly embodied courage. He achieved seemingly impossible feats with clubs that perhaps were not among the biggest, and he took them to an incredible level,” Petersen said.
“And Leo has been following that path for many years. I think he is doing it in an incredible way at this World Cup. There is a revolution surrounding Argentina that is being felt all over the world, and around Leo individually as well. It has truly exceeded what we expected,” he added.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
Source: teleSUR English
