FBI Probes Argentina’s Football Body Amid World Cup Run

Lionel Messi and the Argentina national team have reached the quarterfinal of the 2026 FIFA World Cup as they chase a second straight title, but off the pitch, their football body now faces a serious legal challenge.  According to Argentine newspaper La Nación, the FBI is investigating Argentine Football Association (AFA) over possible fraud and money laundering linked to activity in the United States.

The report says the FBI is looking into how the AFA moved more than $300 million to banks and companies based in the US. Investigators reportedly questioned AFA President Claudio Tapia about how the association structured its international business deals. The agency wants to know whether transactions with US banks and companies broke American law by hiding the true source and purpose of the funds. So far, no charges have been filed in either Argentina or the United States.

The story first broke earlier this year, when investigative journalist Nicolás Pizzi at La Nación uncovered the original scandal. Since then, the case has grown into a much bigger international investigation. The Miami Herald reported that Miami now sits at the centre of a tangled network involving shell companies, offshore transfers and unclear financial dealings. The publication wrote, “The scandal has expanded into an international investigation, placing Miami at the center of a complex web of shell companies, offshore transfers and opaque financial flows that might have deceived U.S. banks about the potentially illicit nature of the funds and how they would be used. At its core lies a familiar pattern: money moving quickly, obscured ownership and oversight struggling to keep pace.”

La Nación’s investigation flagged several suspicious payments, including $340,000 sent to the family of a so-called “spiritual guide” who travelled with the national team to major tournaments, and $2.3 million transferred to a US-registered company tied to a person with no clear financial background. Pizzi told the Miami Herald, “We are talking about at least $260 million …, and it’s a provisional figure that will grow.”

While no formal charges have emerged yet, the investigation remains active and could cast a shadow over Argentina’s World Cup campaign in the weeks ahead.

Could this financial scandal affect Argentina’s focus as they push for World Cup glory?