FIFA and UEFA asked the Government of Spain for institutional support to unblock the elections for the presidency of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) during a meeting this Wednesday in Madrid, warning of the risk that Spain will be left without the 2030 World Cup and their clubs without international competition. During the afternoon, at the headquarters of the Higher Sports Council (CSD), the meeting, with “commitment and guarantees” on the part of the Government, became an ultimatum on the part of the organizations that govern world football. FIFA and UEFA demanded that the elections for the presidency of the RFEF, annulled in September by the TAD, go ahead in the next three months. The Sports Administrative Court (TAD) then annulled the elections called by the RFEF, accepting the appeal filed by Miguel Ángel Galán, president of CENAFE. Since then, FIFA and UEFA have been clear asking for protection and institutional stability for the RFEF, and they conveyed this to the Government this Wednesday.
The president of the Higher Sports Council (CSD), José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, delegated to the Supervision, Normalization and Representation Commission created by the CSD in the supervision of the RFEF, chaired by Vicente del Bosque who headed said meeting. Additionally, the director of the Legal Services and Compliance Division of the International Federation (FIFA), Emilio García Silvero, participated; and the general director of UEFA Integrity and Regulation, Angelo Rigopoulos.
On behalf of the RFEF were the general secretary, Álvaro de Miguel Casanueva; the director of legal services, Jordi Aparisi, and the representative of institutional relations of the general secretariat, Eduard Dervishaj. “We have come to the CSD, very well received, we have had a general debate about the situation of the RFEF, which FIFA and UEFA are very concerned about. He has been in an interim situation for more than a year. It is time for it to have a president, it is one of the most important Federations in the world,” said Emilio García Silvero after the meeting. “We have received a commitment to work together. We have asked the RFEF to call elections immediately in accordance with the electoral order approved by the CSD. These elections must be called within a period of no more than 15-20 days. We have asked the CSD and we have received this guarantee that the CSD has to be in this process and has to help achieve the institutional stability of the RFEF, within its powers,” he added.
Thus, the FIFA representative was sure that “there will be a democratic process and there will be a new president in three months”, without doubting that “the CSD is not the TAD and the TAD is not the CSD”, so that neither neither FIFA nor UEFA have to “act”. “This situation cannot be extended any further. If the electoral process does not go forward, if we continue without a president, FIFA and UEFA are going to act, the time has come to elect a president,” he stated. “’Act’ means what is in the UEFA statutes, a Federation that cannot determine its obligations and duties can be suspended. That happened with other federations. We don’t want to get to this point. We now have the commitment of all parties,” said Angelo Rigopoulos.
Furthermore, García Silvero also hoped that on December 11, FIFA will ratify the 2030 World Cup for Spain, along with Portugal and Morocco, despite the fact that among the 211 members of FIFA “there are many doubts about the situation of the RFEF.” . “It is difficult for us to be able to work when there is no head in charge. “We are convinced that (sanction) will not happen,” he stated. On the other hand, the general secretary of the RFEF, Álvaro de Miguel Casanueva, pointed out that what the Federation wants is to “complete this process in the best way.” “The first thing, call elections, that there are guarantees, that the electoral process be allowed to begin and be completed. I understand that the TAD and the CSD are independent, but who calls the elections cannot be a problem,” he concluded.