The president of the Higher Sports Council (CSD), Víctor Francos, signed this Wednesday the authorization for the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to hold general elections in the first quarter of 2024.
The organization was in favor of the RFEF elections being held with a new assembly, in accordance with the ministerial order to regulate the electoral processes that the federations must carry out next year and that will replace the 2015 one, whose draft was published today by the Ministry of Culture and Sports.
The draft, which presents new developments in terms of democratization, equality and transparency, will now undergo a hearing process with all interested parties prior to its final approval, which runs until November 3.
To democratize the electoral process, the draft announces that the ex officio members of the general assembly are eliminated. Everyone must be elected. The text also expands the conditions for voters and eligibility to facilitate access to representative positions for any federated person of legal age who has participated in any competition or activity of their federation. In addition, it seeks to improve the democratization of the processes by mandating the establishment of polling stations at the regional level when the number of licenses in the autonomous community is equal to or greater than 10 percent of the total state licenses.
Another of the great novelties has to do with good government so that those candidates who incur causes of incapacity, incompatibility, ineligibility or who have been convicted by a final judgment for the disciplinary bodies of federations or by sports courts, whether national or international.
In terms of equality, and with the aim of increasing the presence of women, numerous measures will be adopted that will draw a new reality with respect to the previous regulatory regime. Firstly, in federation bodies with a number of female licenses between 0% and 10%, at least 10% of women will be elected. If the licenses range between 10% and 25%, at least 25% women will be elected. And in those sectors with a number of female licenses greater than 25%, at least 40% of women will be elected. Equally novel is the requirement that the delegate committee and the managing committee of the Spanish sports federations be made up of at least 40% women.
Finally, in defense of transparency, the draft of the new order guarantees that the elections will be equal, free, direct and secret, accredits identity for voting by mail and establishes additional obligations to disseminate the electoral processes through all the social and online networks of the sports federation to reach the youngest members with the right to vote.
