As evidenced by the 2026 World Cup, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) has become an increasingly international brand that leverages soccer\u2019s global reach to maximize its economic impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RELATED:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Spain Stars Yamal and Porro Injured Days Before World Cup Final<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019s investments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leandro Petersen, AFA\u2019s marketing director, is convinced that even after Messi retires from competition, he will continue representing his country around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere is a great deal of future between the AFA brand and the Leo Messi brand. When he stops playing \u2014 and hopefully that won\u2019t be for a long time, although it will happen eventually \u2014 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,\u201d Petersen added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n AFA Expands Into Asian Markets<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cToday, China and India are the two most important markets for AFA\u2019s 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,\u201d AFA\u2019s marketing director stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cToday, 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,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fifa’s sponsorship income for this year’s #FIFAWC<\/a> was predicted to hit $1.78bn. The latest indications suggest it will comfortably outstrip that figure. NBA, NFL, LaLiga and Real Madrid Set the Business Models<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When Petersen took over AFA\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAfter 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI 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\u2019s LaLiga and Real Madrid,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019s model because of its global reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe learn from everyone. I think the NBA\u2019s 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\u2019s global sport. I think Formula 1 and the NBA are the two models we look to the most,\u201d Petersen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83e\uddf5Lionel Messi: Netanyahu\u2019s Favorite Footballer. Messi\u2019s Ties To Israel Explored Diego Maradona\u2019s Enduring Legacy<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n What Messi represents today for Argentina began with Diego Maradona\u2019s achievements on the field. He died in November 2020, but his legacy remains highly influential and powerful from a business standpoint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWithout 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,\u201d Petersen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd 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,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n teleSUR\/ JF<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Source: EFE<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Source: teleSUR English<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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. RELATED: Spain… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12139,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[8],"class_list":["post-12138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"authors":[{"term_id":8,"user_id":1,"is_guest":0,"slug":"yolaunicaquehay","display_name":"RRebeldeAdminWP","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e6145d63ff95c9a0f0e53b7149804b1faf86748d6cc15f466103269a288ea377?s=96&d=mm&r=g","author_category":"","user_url":"https:\/\/www.radiorebelde.cu\/english","last_name":"Radio Rebelde","first_name":"WebMaster","job_title":"","description":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.radiorebelde.cu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.radiorebelde.cu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.radiorebelde.cu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.radiorebelde.cu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.radiorebelde.cu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12138"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.radiorebelde.cu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12138\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12140,"href":"https:\/\/www.radiorebelde.cu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12138\/revisions\/12140"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.radiorebelde.cu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.radiorebelde.cu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.radiorebelde.cu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.radiorebelde.cu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12138"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.radiorebelde.cu\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=12138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
Our Fifa World Cup 2026 Briefing covers the governing body’s media rights and sponsorship activity in full, including:<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n\n
The world\u2019s eyes were on Lionel Messi on Wednesday night, as Argentina faced England in the World Cup semi-final. The diminutive superstar has gained a massive following across the planet, not\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/Kw9XZ0ssYd<\/a>\u2014 MintPress News (@MintPressNews) July 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n