Villar wins eighth term as Spanish FA president

Madrid (AFP) – Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president Angel Maria Villar was reelected for an eighth term on Monday after being unopposed in elections.

Villar, a long-term UEFA and FIFA vice-president, has been head of the Spanish FA for the past 28 years and was reelected with 112 votes in favour, with 11 abstentions and six spoiled ballots, the RFEF confirmed.

However, despite his longevity, Villar’s time in charge has been dogged by controversy.

His former secretary general Jorge Perez decided not to challenge his former boss for the presidency and has instead presented a case against Villar to Spain’s highest sports court.

Perez alleges there were irregularities in the postal vote to elect the members of the RFEF assembly who in turn vote in the presidential elections.

Villar was also fined 25,000 Swiss francs ($25,700) by FIFA’s ethics committee in 2015 for his conduct during an investigation into the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively.

Yet, he has also overseen the most glorious period in the Spanish national team’s history as they won three back-to-back major tournaments, triumphing at Euro 2008 and 2012 either side of a first ever World Cup in South Africa in 2010.