Rafael Lozán se une al Comité Ejecutivo de la UEFA
The president of the Royal Football Federation (RFEF), Rafael Lozán, was appointed on Thursday to join the Executive Committee of UEFA, as decided at the Congress of the Agency held in Belgrade.
This move sees Spanish football regain a position in the decision-making body of the continental football leadership organization, after being without representation due to Luis Rubiales having to vacate his position and the vice president being disqualified following Jenni Hermoso’s disqualification after the 2023 Women’s World Cup final.
«The entry into the UEFA Executive Committee represents a recognition of Spanish football for RFEF and Spain, demonstrating its specific weight in Europe. It also signifies the discovery of stability, institutional normality, and transparency of the institution that governs this sport in Spain, marking the beginning of a new phase that started on December 16th.»
Louzán, the highest-ranking official of RFEF since December 16th, was appointed as one of the two members for the UEFA Executive Committee for a two-year term alongside Israeli Moshe Zares, surpassing in the elections Lastoni Lasenko Viadimii from Ukraine and Shevchenko and Miltés Bjorn Vassallo. The Spaniards received the most support, with 32 votes, one more than Zares.
«It is a recognition of the path of Spanish football that I believe is in the place it deserves, and I suppose what everyone is expecting is that we will agree on what this means. Therefore, we will defend here, as it cannot be otherwise, the interests of Spain,» said Rafael Lozán.
In statements provided by RFEF after the elections, the Galician leader emphasized the need to «work hand in hand with UEFA and also with FIFA for the challenges» that Spanish football faces and that «there are few.»
On the other hand, Italian Gabriele Grărina and German Hans-Joachim Watzke were re-elected for four years, and Norway’s Lise Klavenness, Croatia’s Marijan Kustic, Finn Ari Lahti, Armenia’s Armenio Melikbekyan, Dutchman Frank Paauw, and Estonian Pohlak Schäfer were also chosen.
Grărina was named the first vice president, Watzke the second vice president, and the Danish Jesper Moeller Christensen the third vice president, while Hungarian Sandor Csami was appointed treasurer with vice president status.
For the FIFA Council, Romanians Razvan Burleanu, Cypriot Georgios Komas, German Bernd NeUendorf, and Montenegrin Savicevic were replaced by Pascale Van Damme from Belgium as a new member.
Finally, David Gill, Karl-Erik Nilsson, and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge were elected as honorary members of the Executive Committee «in recognition of their significant contributions to UEFA and European football over the years of service.»
FUENTE
