The source said that Federal Judge Luis Armella ordered the raids as part of a case investigating alleged money laundering by the financial firm Sur Finanzas, one of the main sponsors of Argentine football’s governing body.
Sur Finanzas said in a statement last week that all the services it provides are carried out in compliance with current regulations and referred to the accusations as “unfounded.”
Video taken by CNN and affiliate TN on Tuesday shows uniformed federal police moving in and out of the Argentine Football Association building in Buenos Aires.CNN contacted the AFA for comment and is still awaiting a response.
A source familiar with the case told CNN that the investigation began following suspicions of irregularities in Sur Finanzas’ contract with Club Atlético Banfield, one of the most historic teams in Argentina’s top soccer division.
Banfield said in a statement that the club will cooperate with the investigation.
The same source said that after authorities initially raided Banfield and Sur Finanzas, documents were found that allegedly linked the company to other clubs in different divisions. As a result, more than 30 raids were approved on Tuesday to verify whether there are irregularities in other contracts.
"So far there have been 25 to 30 raids of teams and private homes," a police source told AFP.
The source confirmed that the headquarters of the Argentine Football Association as well as the training grounds of the national team south of the capital were targeted.
Several first-division clubs were also raided, including Racing, Independiente, Banfield, and San Lorenzo.
The company under investigation is Sur Finanzas, whose owner is close to AFA president Claudio Tapia.
Last month tax authorities filed a complaint against the firm accusing it of dodging taxes on Argentine pesos equivalent to $550 million.
Local media reported that authorities were investigating whether the firm used frontmen to provide loans to clubs in exchange for benefits such as broadcasting rights.
The judge in charge has lifted banking confidentiality for the clubs under investigation.
Racing downplayed its ties to Sur Finanzas, saying in a statement that a 2023 commercial agreement with the company "was only an advertising and sponsorship deal," set to expire on December 31, 2025.
The club also noted that Sur Finanzas owes it money.
Another club that was raided, the Buenos Aires-based Atletico Excursionistas, denied any financial ties to the firm under investigation, beyond a typical sponsorship deal.
The scandal comes as football in Lionel Messi's Argentina -- which lifted the 2022 World Cup trophy -- is mired in power struggles.
Several controversies have raised questions over the power that Tapia, who has headed the AFA since 2017, wields over Argentine football.
Tapia has clashed with the government of President Javier Milei, who favors turning football clubs into publicly traded sports companies
In a controversial move, the AFA last month suddenly created a new championship combining points from the season's two main league tournaments.
This saw Rosario Central -- the club of former Paris Saint-Germain player Angel Di Maria -- crowned "Argentine champion," even though the final of the closing tournament has yet to be played.
Estudiantes -- which is playing in Saturday's final against Racing -- rejected the title and its president was suspended for six months by the AFA disciplinary tribunal.
One of the clubs raided was Barracas Central, which Tapia ran for two decades before his son took over.
In recent months, anger has heated up over alleged referee favoritism towards the club which soared from the lower divisions to the top flight in recent years.
Tapia has remained defiant in the face of the growing controversies.
"Three Argentine presidents have come and gone in just nine years since I began leading Argentine football, and I still have many years ahead," he said two weeks ago, re