The Argentine Football Association (AFA) has backed down on a much-criticised plan to fuse the first and second divisions into a 38-team national championship from next year. "The AFA resolved tonight (Monday) to suspend consideration of the proposal," the sport's national governing body said in a statement on its official website (www.afa.org.ar), while not ruling out looking at it again at a later date.
Players, coaches, fans, club directors and media were scathing in their criticism of the idea, made public last week, which would have been introduced in the 2012-13 season. Fans called for a demonstration at AFA headquarters in downtown Buenos Aires. The plan, to include the 20 first division sides and 18 from the second-tier Nacional B, was seen as a ruse to get relegated giants River Plate back into the top flight as quickly as possible and also ensure other big teams did not risk the drop.