Football
ESPN staff 8y

Javier Tebas resigns from La Liga post; will seek re-election

La Liga president Javier Tebas officially announced his resignation via Twitter on Wednesday and said he would call for new elections and run again for the post.

The resignation was expected from the leader, who has been in charge of the Spanish league for the past three-and-a-half years. 

The term limit is four years and his term is up on April 2017.

Elections are expected to be held in October and Tebas is looking for a vote of confidence from the 42 first- and second-division teams. He needs 32 votes to be re-elected.

He ran unopposed in 2013 and at present, there are no other candidates to oppose him.

"I have formally presented my resignation as president of La Liga," Tebas said via Twitter. "A new electoral process will be opened and I will again seek the trust of the clubs."

Tebas had earlier said his wish was to leave the post of president before 2020.

But because elections were scheduled to be held in 2017, the next four year term would have taken him beyond that date.

"If I achieve the aims, I would like to leave before 2020 to be with my family and dedicate myself to my profession [lawyer]," he said last month.

La Liga recently opened its sixth office outside of Spain in New Delhi, India.

The organisation has offices in the United States, South Africa, Dubai, Nigeria and China in an effort to increase global interest.

La Liga wants more revenue from European competitions and more lucrative TV deals. Spanish clubs have dominated the Champions League and Europa League in recent years.

Since the 2005-06 season, Barcelona and Real Madrid have won the Champions League a combined six times while in the last 12 years, Spanish clubs have lifted the Europa League trophy on eight occasions.

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