After more than a year of unrest at the scandal-plagued organisation following the removal of former head Luis Rubiales and his right-hand man Pedro Rocha, the general assembly of Spain’s football federation (RFEF) elected Rafael Louzan new president on Monday.
After Sergio Merchan, the leader of Extremadura FA, withdrew at the last minute, Louzan, 57, the head of Galicia’s regional FA, won 90 votes to defeat Salvador Gomar, the head of Valencian FA, who received only 43.
A corruption investigation has been launched against Rubiales, who is scheduled to go on trial in February for sexual assault after kissing athlete Jenni Hermoso without her consent following Spain’s victory in the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Sydney.
His temporary successor, Rocha, received a two-year penalty for inconsistencies. A temporary committee was established by the Spanish government in April of last year to supervise the football regulatory body until fresh elections were held.
As Spain prepares to co-host the 2030 World Cup, Louzan’s legal issues could jeopardise the RFEF’s ambitions of starting over.
He was convicted of malfeasance in May 2022 in connection with a contract to renovate a Morana football pitch.
The punishment prohibited him from holding public office for seven years, even though he was exonerated of fraud allegations.
Louzan was able to compete for president of the RFEF since he appealed and denied any misconduct.
The appeal is scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court on February 5.
He was viewed as the consensus candidate after carefully cultivating ties for months, especially with La Liga president Javier Tebas, therefore his resounding win was anticipated.
“(RFEF) is the home for everyone in Spanish football.
“Past this election we finally become one team where everyone will be able to contribute to a football federation, which is our life and our passion,” Louzan told the assembly.
“It is time to recover the prestige and image of this organization and to reach it we need to stick together, because only those who stay united can obtain results.
“I would like to specially thank my dear friend (Pedro) Rocha who started this new path.
“A football leader can also be a good person.”
Backed by the professional clubs’ votes, Louzan’s election may end years of disagreement between the RFEF and LaLiga with Rubiales’ multimillion-euro deal to relocate the Spanish Super Cup to Saudi Arabia and Tebas’ plans to play regular season games overseas under the spotlight.
