RFEF deny they are attempting to takeover LNFS competitions

This article has been put together from the translation of articles in the Spanish media if there is any discrepancy from what you understand the situation to be then we apologize for any translation mistakes. And, have provided the best translation that we could.

Marca reports that tensions have grown between the LNFS (Liga National de Futbol Sala) and RFEF. The RFEF (Royal Spanish Football Federation) President Luis Rubiales called a meeting, inviting the club members of the LNFS First and Second Divisions. The LNFS stated that their President Javier Lozano has not received any official communication or invitation from the Royal Spanish Football Federation to the meeting that its president Luis Rubiales, convened unilaterally with the associated clubs.

The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) expressed “its total disappointment” with the response of the National Futsal League (LNFS) to the meeting it held with its member clubs without the presence of Javier Lozano. The President of the RFEF said that he has the right to call a meeting “without an intermediary imposed by one party”, regretting that the former has taken this position. However, the LNFS feel that this has not respected their position, “Faced with this unprecedented and improper action of an institution such as the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the National Futsal League wants to publicly demand to Luis Rubiales the due institutional respect towards the Club Association, especially when the signing of a new agreement is being negotiated between the RFEF and LNFS to replace the previous one that dates from 2013 and in which they intend to lay the foundations of a future framework of coexistence between both entities.” In addition, Marca reports that the LNFS goes on to state that “the Board of Directors and the LNFS Assembly are the governing bodies of the Association and any such meeting in which the competencies of the LNFS are compromised, implies a lack of institutional loyalty. ”

According to Eurosport, clubs who confirmed their attendance at the meeting stated that “during the meeting, Luis Rubiales offered them that it would be the RFEF who would manage the competitions of the LNFS (First and Second Division, Spanish Cup and Spanish Super Cup), transferring the structure of the LNFS to the la Ciudad del Fútbol de Las Rozas (Football training facility opened in 2003, serving as the headquarters of the Royal Spanish Football Federation) and the business concerning commercial, television and the media rights of the clubs. To add further heat to the reason for the meeting and the LNFS reaction, Andreu Camps, general secretary of the RFEF, said that” any of the clubs that were present at the meeting yesterday will be able to verify that the information provided by the president of the LNFS on the content of the meeting held are full of falsehoods and malicious interpretations of the information transmitted there “and added:” The RFEF deeply regrets that the president of the LNFS wants to destroy all the negotiation bridges that could exist between the LNFS and the RFEF. However, Marca reports the opposite to Eurosport saying when it comes to the clubs apparently stating the opposite of the RFEF, that Barcelona and Inter Movistar have both denied that  the RFEF wish to take over and from Barcelona’s point of view, it is important that both the LNFS and the RFEF come to an agreement to further develop the sport. Movistar Inter has said at no point in the meeting did the RFEF propose that they would assume control of the LNFS competitions but it was simply a meeting for the RFEF to state their position to the clubs when it comes to Futsal.

Ex-international Kike Boned, vice president of ElPozo Murcia and advisor to the Board of Directors of the LNFS argued that “We need an independent LNFS that continues to fight to be the best league in the world” and that the entity is “a reference worldwide.” Therefore, it is committed to maintaining the Federation-League relationship model that also exists in other sports: “Why break precisely this status quo that has brought us so much success here?”

Links to the sources we used to make this article:

Marca: http://bit.ly/2YXB8LT

Eurosport: http://bit.ly/2MWtdvT

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