MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina to mark every July 15 with the World Cup win that revived the Falklands dispute

The decision was approved unanimously on August 5 at an executive committee meeting held at the association's Ezeiza complex

The Argentine Football Association (AFA) has established July 15 as National Football Teams Day, in tribute to the 2-1 win over England in the 2026 World Cup semi-final, the same match after which several players displayed a banner asserting a sovereignty claim over the Falklands that prompted a FIFA disciplinary case.

The decision was approved unanimously on August 5 at an executive committee meeting held at the association's Ezeiza complex. According to its statement, the date commemorates the “great and historic victory” of the side coached by Lionel Scaloni, which came from behind in Atlanta through goals by Enzo Fernández and Lautaro Martínez, both set up by Lionel Messi. The AFA specified that the recognition also covers all national teams — youth, men's and women's, futsal, beach football and field football — that train at the Lionel Andrés Messi complex. Argentina went on to lose the final to Spain.

After the final whistle on July 15, a group of players unfurled a sheet reading “Las Malvinas son argentinas” — “The Falklands are Argentine” — in front of the stands. The British government condemned the gesture and asked FIFA to investigate, considering it a political demonstration at an official competition. A spokesperson for then-prime minister Keir Starmer said, as reported by the Daily Mail, that “the World Cup might not be ours, the Falkland Islands definitely are”, adding that self-determination rests with the islanders.

FIFA rules prohibit political messaging at its competitions. The governing body's disciplinary committee opened proceedings against the AFA and several players, among them Giovani Lo Celso, Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martínez. The case remains open and no sanction has been decided. There is a precedent: FIFA had already begun proceedings over a similar banner displayed at a friendly against Bosnia in La Plata before the tournament.

Argentine President Javier Milei backed the players. He called the celebration “perfectly valid” and said it reflects a sentiment shared by Argentines, though he anticipated a fine from the governing body.

The AFA also said the banner will be handed to veterans of the Falklands War. It was made by a group of fans from a bedsheet and paint at a cost of under ten dollars, taken into the stadium without authorization and retrieved from the pitch by a member of the delegation's staff.

The United Kingdom has administered the Falklands since 1833. In the 2013 referendum, islanders voted overwhelmingly to retain their status as a British overseas territory. Argentina maintains a sovereignty claim over the islands.