Spain appoints ex-coach Del Bosque to oversee football federation

MADRID: Spain's government on Tuesday appointed former national team coach Vicente del Bosque as head of a special committee to oversee the scandal-ridden RFEF - the national football federation - until it holds new elections, Sports Minister Pilar Alegria said.

The 73-year-old Del Bosque, who led Spain to the 2010 World Cup and 2012 Euro championship titles and Real Madrid to Champions League glory in 2000 and 2002, was picked to head the committee created last week by the government for "his commitment to sport and to his country".

The RFEF has been mired in scandal recently, including a corruption probe and the widespread fallout from the unsolicited kiss former RFEF chief Luis Rubiales gave player Jenni Hermoso at the awards ceremony when Spain won the women's World Cup in Sydney last year.

The government, which is keen to move on from the issues within the RFEF as Spain gears up to co-host the 2030 World Cup, will be hoping Del Bosque's appointment gives the special committee some clout - and some breathing room.

It said it "expects RFEF, FIFA and UEFA to collaborate with the committee" overseeing the national federation.

"Del Bosque represents the best our country's football has to offer, not only because of his sporting successes," Alegria told reporters.

"He is the clearest representation of a good person, of great human quality and an example of honesty. Del Bosque is going to be the face and the representation of Spanish football."

FIFA and UEFA had said last week they were monitoring the situation in Spain with "great concern" after Madrid took over the RFEF. FIFA's regulations state that members must manage their affairs independently and without external influence.

The National Sports Council - the government agency responsible for sport - said the special committee was created as "a constructive response to the reputational crisis RFEF has been experiencing for some time".

Del Bosque will oversee the RFEF until new elections are called after the 2024 Paris Olympics end in August.

The RFEF is now being run by Rubiales' former vice-president Pedro Rocha, who has been serving as interim president since Rubiales quit in September, despite Rocha himself being under investigation in a corruption probe.

A judge put Rocha under investigation this month after Spanish police searched the RFEF headquarters in March. Rocha said this month that he had "no knowledge nor, therefore, any responsibility for the facts that are being investigated".

Sources told Reuters the National Sports Council had postponed for the second time on Tuesday a decision on whether to take action itself over separate disciplinary proceedings opened against Rocha on which the Administrative Court of Sport is expected to rule in the coming weeks.