On the latest episode of La Previa, Leandro Petersen, the CMO of The Argentine Football Association (AFA), joins Asli Pelit to discuss the organization’s efforts to grow the brand in the United States.
Petersen started working for the association right before the 2018 World Cup in Russia when the Albiceleste reached the round of 16 before being eliminated by France in a 4-3 thriller. Commercially, the team could only rely on national sponsors back then. On and off the pitch, Argentina, known as a soccer powerhouse, was facing challenging times.
Following the 2018 heartbreak, AFA changed gears. The association announced a new framework for its global expansion strategy, focusing on the United States to promote its brand and generate new business revenues. Since 2020, AFA signed sponsorship deals with more than 50 multinational companies, including American Express, Fanatics, Socios.com, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, among others. It has also expanded its footprint in markets such as Asia, India, China and the Middle East.
“North America is a strategic region for us and the U.S. market is a priority,” Petersen said. “And it will be the absolute priority for the next two years leading up to the FIFA World Cup in 2026.”
Playmaker Capital’s Futbol Sites, the digital sports media company, carries out AFA’s U.S. expansion. Futbol Sites handles AFA’s English-language social media channels and is a strategic business and sponsorship partner, connecting North American brands to AFA and its top players. In addition to making the U.S. one of its commercial and marketing priorities leading up to the World Cup, AFA also built a training facility in Miami to train the next generation of soccer players.
“Soccer is growing in the U.S., and I think Argentina has a lot to do, not only with the arrival of Leo,” Petersen said. “He is obviously the most important factor, but many other Argentine players are in the MLS.” Argentina and Brazil are the top two countries that export soccer players to the world.
Following the Argentina national team’s success in Copa América in 2024, Petersen expects more Argentine clubs to visit the U.S. for friendly games and the FIFA Club World Cup in 2025. With more than 300,000 Argentines living on U.S. soil and Latinos who follow Argentinian soccer, Petersen believes the market for Argentine soccer is growing. “They may be from Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras or El Salvador, but they support Argentina too,” he said.
Finally, Pelit and Petersen discuss the future of Argentina’s national team post-Messi.
“We think that Leo (Messi), whether he plays or not, will be the face of the Argentine national team, as Maradona still is,” Petersen said. “We are fortunate to have produced the two greatest players in the history of soccer.”
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