Argentine President Javier Milei said on Thursday that he will not attend Sunday's FIFA World Cup final, opting instead to watch Argentina's clash against Spain from home in keeping with a personal superstition that he believes has coincided with the team's success.
Milei said he plans to watch the defending champions' eighth match of the tournament from the presidential residence at Olivos, just as he did for their previous seven victories. He also revealed that he intends to wear the same heavy jacket he has worn throughout the team's winning run.
Speaking to Buenos Aires-based radio station El Observador, Milei dismissed suggestions that he would travel to New Jersey for the final, where he had been widely expected to join US President Donald Trump and FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
“No way."
“I'm going to keep watching all the games from Olivos," he said, referring to the official presidential residence.
When asked whether the decision was driven by superstition, Milei acknowledged that it was and described another ritual he has followed during the tournament.
"Since it's cold and I don't turn on the heat, I wear an oil company-branded jacket. The day of the Switzerland game, it made me really hot. I took it off, and they scored a goal against us. I put it back on and never took it off again.”
Superstitions, known in Argentina as “cábalas," are deeply woven into the country's football culture. Fans and players alike often believe that repeating certain routines can bring good fortune to their own team or bad luck to their opponents.
Many supporters refuse to alter their match-day habits while the team continues to win. Some wear the same clothes for every game and avoid washing their jerseys throughout the World Cup, while others insist on watching matches from the same seat or room. In some households, people who happen to be away from the television when Argentina scores are considered unlucky and are asked not to watch the remainder of the match.
Even seemingly insignificant actions can become rituals. During this World Cup, one widely circulated video showed a group of supporters reading from the Bible just as Argentina began scoring against Egypt. After that victory, they continued the same practice before every match. Another common cábala involves freezing figurines of opposition players or slips of paper bearing their names in the belief that it will hinder the rival team.
Argentine presidents have traditionally avoided attending crucial World Cup fixtures because of similar superstitions. The belief dates back to the 1990 tournament, when then-President Carlos Menem visited the national squad shortly before Argentina suffered a shock defeat to Cameroon in its opening match.
Following that loss, Menem acquired the reputation of being a “mufa," or jinx, and no sitting Argentine president is known to have attended a match involving the national team since.
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